UC-NRLF 
 
 
 SB 537 ^D 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
NORDURFARI, 
 
 OR 
 
 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 BY PLINY MILES 
 
 Nefudan N"or5urfara 
 Nu a hann a5 svara 
 
 Fyrir fyr5a tvo; 
 Vir5i5 yel J>o8 gaman! 
 Vi$ ]?vi sattir framan 
 Erum allir saman — 
 
 E5a mun ei svo? 
 Ju — allir Isalandi 
 Unum vi5 og sandi 
 
 Er blaar barur ]>vo. 
 
 Brinjulfsson. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 CHARLES B. NORTON, 71 CHAMBERS STREET, 
 
 1854. 
 
Entebed according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
 
 CHARLES B. NORTON, 
 
 In the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southern District of 
 
 New York. 
 
 Baker, Godwin & Co., Printers, 
 1 Spruce St., New York. 
 
DL3/2 
 
 TO 
 
 PHILIP JAMES BAILEY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "FESTTJS," 
 I3ST ADMOCDEIATXO^ 03P MIS &E35ffXT3S, 
 
 RESPECT FOR HIS CHARACTER, 
 
 REMEMBRANCE OF HIS FRIENDSHIP 
 
 AND THE MANY 
 VALUABLE HOURS SPENT ED HIS SOCIETY, 
 
 THIS UNPRETENDING VOLUME 
 
 Xa <aflectionat*Ia 
 
 INSCRIBED. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFACE, xni 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Voyage — Stop a day at Elsinore — Elsinore Castle, Hamlet, and 
 Shakspeare — "Independence Day" at Sea — Fourth of July 
 Oration — Whales and Sharks — Passengers, Live Stock, Books, 
 and Amusements — The Meal Sack — Sea-Birds — The Gannet, or 
 Solan Goose — Land at Reykjavik, . . . Page 17-32 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Iceland, its Discovery and Settlement — Discovery and Settlement 
 of Greenland and North America by the Icelanders — Ericsson 
 — Trading and Skirmishing between the Icelanders and the 
 North American Indians — Voyage of Columbus to Iceland — 
 Icelandic Congress, or Althing — Thingvalla, the Capital — Ad- 
 ministration of the Laws, 33-47 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Geographical Features of Iceland — Productions and Minerals — 
 Character and Literary Taste of the People — Wild and Domes- 
 tic Animals — Exports and Imports — Chief Towns — Habits of 
 the Icelanders of Olden Time — Beards, . . . 48-60 
 
 M3101.35 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Town of Reykjavik — Houses, Gardens, and Productions — A Ride 
 in the Country — Visit Hafnarfiorth — Preparations for a Jour- 
 ney in the Interior — A Party of Travelers — Face of the Coun- 
 try — Salmon -Fishing — A Tumble — Breakfast on the Hill-side — 
 Stop at a Hotel! — Splendid Scenery — Extraordinary Purity of 
 the Atmosphere — Almannagja, or Chasm in the Rock — Arrive 
 at Thingvalla — Trout-Fishing on a large scale — Encamp for the 
 Night, 61-75 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Dining Out — Many Tongues, but no Confusion — A Merry Dinner- 
 party — Angling — Thingvalla, and place of Meeting of the An- 
 cient Althing — Daring Act of a Criminal — "If you Hang a 
 Rogue, you must Catch him First" — Old Customs — Introduction 
 of Christianity, and Fall of Idolatry — A Lacteal Disquisition — 
 Company Separate, 76-84 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Etymology of Icelandic Words — Similarity of the Icelandic and 
 English — The Iceland Numerals — Counting — Geographical 
 Terms, 85-88 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Journeying to the Eastward — A Forest — Blacksmithing — Game- 
 Birds — The Ptarmigan — Iceland Ladies Riding Horseback — 
 Thingvalla Lake — Rough Traveling — First View of Mount 
 Hekla — Broad Valleys and Large Rivers — A Cave, and Such a 
 Cave-! — Singular Cataract — Frail Bridge — Arrive at the Gey- 
 sers, 89-99 
 
CONTENTS. VII 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Great Geyser — Its Size . and Appearance — Numerous Hot 
 Springs in the Vicinity — Springs of Boiling Mud — Beautiful 
 Colored Clays — A Seething Cauldron — The Little Geyser — 
 Wait for an Eruption of the Great Geyser — Singular Warnings, 
 or Signal Guns — An Eruption — The Strokr, another Geyser — 
 Forced Eruption of the Strokr — Surtshellir, or the Devil's Cave 
 — A Warm Bath — How to Cook a Dinner without Fire — Beau- 
 tiful Birds — Termination of the " Show," . . 100-113 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Journey towards Mount Hekla — Iceland Rivers — Haying — An Ice- 
 land Meadow — How the Horses Live — Beautiful Birds — The 
 Pochard — Playing Mazeppa — Swimming a River Horseback — 
 — A Hospitable Icelander — Herre Johann Briem — Slanders and 
 Falsehoods of Madame Pfeiffer, . . . . 114-123 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Productions of Iceland — White Clover — A Singular 'Ferry — Horses 
 Swimming — Sleeping Under the Bed — Sleeping in a Church — 
 An Iceland Salute — Iceland Horses — An Icelander with a Brick 
 in his Hat — Boyish Sports — Rolling Stones down Hill — Guess 1 
 rolled a Big One down — Guess it knocked the Stone Wall 
 over — " Guess " a certain Yankee had to pay for it, too, 124-131 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Ascent of Mount Hekla— Preparations and " Victualing " for the 
 Trip — Mountain Gorges — Hard Climbing for Ponies — Obliged 
 to Dismount, and leave our Horses — Streams of Lava — Smoke 
 and Fire — Variegated Appearance and Color of the Lava — 
 
VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 Almost an Accident — Up, up the Mountain — Hard Climbing — 
 A Lonely Flower on Mount Hekla — Beautiful Weather — Snow 
 — Craters of the Late Eruption — Fire and Brimstone — Awful 
 Scene, and Dangerous Traveling — Arrive on the Summit — An 
 Elevated Dinner — Boundless View from the Top — Descent into 
 the Large Crater — Ancient Snow-Banks — Descent of the Mount- 
 ain, 132-146 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Volcanoes in Iceland — A Submarine Eruption — Awful Eruption of 
 Skaptar Jokull in 1*783— Terrible Destruction of Life and Prop- 
 erty — Details of the Eruption — A River of Fire — " Fiske Vatn " 
 — A Mountain Giant Drinking up a Lake — Eruptions of Mount 
 Hekla since the year 1000, 14*7-155 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Pleasing Customs — " Son of man, set thy face against the daugh- 
 ters of thy people " — Roses in Iceland — Fields of Beautiful 
 Heath — Skarth — Crossing the Ferry — A Lofty Cataract — The 
 Westmann Islands — People on Volcanic Rocks, 3,000 feet above 
 the Sea — One Half of the World never knows how the other 
 Half lives— Climbing Crags for Sea-Fowl — Islands Plundered 
 by Pirates, 156-168 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Game-Birds of Iceland— Wild Reindeer— Ravens— Skalholt— A 
 Merry Sysselman— Good Cheer in Prospect, " for he's a jolly 
 good fellow V — Finally concluded not to stay all night with 
 him — Took " a Horn," and lefc, . • . . 169-176 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Stay at Hraungerthi — Rev. Mr. Thorarensen and Family— Christian- 
 ity, Comfort, and Refinement — Church-yard and Homes of the 
 Dead — Gardening and Farming in Iceland — Iceland Hospitality, 
 
 177-184 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Leave Hraungerthi — A Pretty Girl, and a Man not so Pretty — 
 Crossing a Ferry — The Reykir Springs — Singular Group of 
 Boiling Fountains and Geysers — Nero, . . . 185-192 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 An Icelander in a Warm Bath — A Churl — Not born to be drowned 
 — Vogsosar — Rev. Mr. Jonson — Hospitality again — Drift-wood 
 — Plum-pudding Stone — Arrive at Krisuvik, . 193-199 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Krisuvik — The Sulphur Mountains — Fire and Brimstone — Sulphur 
 Mines — Jet of Steam from a Hole in a Rock — A Mud Geyser — 
 "Stones of Sulphur," 200-207 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Leave the Sulphur Mountains — Fun with Mr. Philmore— Stealing 
 another Man's Thunder — Up and down Hills — A Horrible 
 Road — Arrive at Hafnarfiorth — Visit at Mr. Johnson's — House 
 full of Pretty Girls — A Lady in a "fix"— A Bachelor in the 
 same — Girls Riding Horseback — The Town and Harbor of Haf- 
 narfiorth — Journey to Reykjavik, and Cordial Reception, 
 
 208-217 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Ornithology of Iceland — Eider-Ducks Half Domesticated, yet 
 Wild— A Bird that won't be Caught — Cormorants — The Gan- 
 net, or Solan Goose 218-225 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Snow-Birds— Gulls— The Iceland Gull— Skua Gull— The Great 
 White Owl — The Jer-Falcon, or Iceland Falcon — His Unequaled 
 Velocity on the Wing — Falcon of Henry IV. carrying the Mail 
 from Paris to Malta— Trained Falcons, .' . . 226-232 
 
 C H APTER XXII. 
 
 The Faroe Isles — Little known to Modern Travelers — Majestic 
 Scenery — Thorshaven — The " Witch's Finger " — Men Climbing 
 Crags — A Terrible Chasm ; a Home for Sea-Fowl — Anecdote of 
 Graba — Norwegian Collectors, and Faroese Maidens, 233-241 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Northern Mythology— The Chaotic World, and Scandinavian idea 
 of Creation — Surtur and Surturbrand — Ymir — The Myth of the 
 Ash — Mimir's Well — Odin, Thor, and Baldur — Forseti, the God 
 of Justice — Bragi, the God of Poetry — Frey — Freyja, Heimdal 
 and Hodur — The Goddesses, the Valkyrjor, and the Noras, 
 
 242-253 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Mythology of the Northmen, Concluded — Day and Night — The 
 Earth, Sun, and Moon — Loki, the Wolf Fenrir, the Midgard 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 Serpent, and Tyr — Hela, or Death — Valhalla — Death of Baldur 
 — Adventures of Thor with the Giants of Jotunheim — Ragnarok, 
 
 254-267 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Early Literature of the Icelanders — Eddas and Sagas — Manners 
 and Customs of the Period — Extracts from the Poetic Edda, 
 
 268-280 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Modern Icelandic Literature — Icelandic Poetry — Jon Thorlakson's 
 Translations of Milton and Pope — Burns' Bruce's Address — Ice : 
 landic Hymn — Franklin's Story of a Whistle — Quotations from 
 an Iceland Newspaper, 281-292 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Matters Personal, Literary, and General — Manners and Customs of 
 the People — Iceland Politics — Books and Newspapers — Con- 
 gressional Reports — Sir Henry Holland — Danish Laws Prohib : 
 iting Trade with Iceland — Productions — Prospects of Trade 
 being Opened to the World — Letter from President Johnson on 
 the Subject— Trade Opened to the World, . . 293-302 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Agricultural Resources of Iceland — Improvements needed — Dis- 
 eases and Medical Practice — Public Worship in Reykjavik — 
 Ancient Costume — Further Extracts from President Johnson's 
 Letters — Social Evenings — Young Ladies of Iceland; their Edu- 
 cation and Accomplishments — Mr. Brinjulfssoa — Take Leave of 
 Friends— Embarkation, . * 303-312 
 
XII CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Voyage to Copenhagen — Snaefell Jokull from the Sea — Basaltic 
 Cliffs of Stapi — The "Needles" — Portland — Mountains on the 
 South Coast of Iceland — Hospitality of the Icelanders to French 
 Sailors Shipwrecked — Liberality of Louis Philippe — Loss of the 
 Lilloise — Scandinavian Commission — Geimar's Great Work — 
 Mr. Sivertsen — Young Ladies on Ship-board — Music — Dancing 
 on a Rocking Deck — Captain of the Soloven — Contrary Winds 
 — Arrive at Copenhagen, 313-320 
 
r £1V * / 
 
 (j 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 A Preface to a book, is a sort of pedestal where the 
 author gets up to make a speech ; frequently an apologizing 
 ground, where he " drops in — hopes he don't intrude ;" a 
 little strip of green carpet near the foot-lights, where he 
 bows to the audience, and with a trembling voice asks them 
 to look with lenient eyes on his darling bantling that is just 
 coming before the world. Very likely he tells of the nu- 
 merous difficulties and disadvantages under which he has 
 labored ; perhaps apologizes for his style, under the plea of 
 writing against time, and that he has been greatly hurried. 
 Readers and critics are usually indulgent towards the minor 
 faults of an author, provided he entertains or instructs 
 them ; but they pay little attention to special pleadings. 
 The writer who deliberately perpetrates a stupid or silly 
 book, deserves the fate of dunces — obloquy and contempt. 
 If he adds to this the double crime of setting up a justifica- 
 tion, and askst hat his work be not subject to the usual 
 canons of criticism, then the reviewers should level their 
 heaviest guns, pepper him pungently, and prove him but a 
 buzzard, while he claimed the honors of a game-cock. We 
 however, have a right to expect and demand more from a 
 veteran author, than from a young and inexperienced one. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 The world is so perverse, so incorrigibly an unbeliever, 
 that very likely it would not credit a word of it — without 
 finding the statements proved — if the author of this little 
 volume were to say, that it was a readable and valuable 
 work, "just what has been -wanted," — a good thing, and in 
 season. Yet, gentle reader, " and still gentler purchaser," 
 seeing you have paid your dollar ! — it is most undoubtedly 
 true of the " Rambles " of this " Northurfari," your humble 
 and obliged servant. 
 
 Dropping the eyw, he will tell you how it was. Spend- 
 ing a few years in travel, he found himself after the " Great 
 Exhibition " epoch, like the unconquered and unconquera- 
 ble Macedonian, seeking for a world to pommel — with his 
 footsteps — and after diligent and long-continued search on 
 all the maps of all the Wylds, Johnstones, and Coltons in 
 Christendom, could find but one land that was untrodden ; 
 but one that was not as contemptibly common as Irkoutsk, 
 Timbuctoo, or the Niger itself. Iceland was the shining 
 bit of glacier, the one piece of virgin ore, the solitary lump 
 of unlicked lava ; and straightway to Iceland he went. It 
 might not interest his readers any, were they to be told 
 whether these pages were written in the saddle, or on Mount 
 Hekla ; in a tar-painted house in Reykjavik, or in a marble 
 palace in London ; on the deck of a Danish schooner, in a 
 continuous summer day of the Arctic sea, or by the light 
 of bright eyes in Scotia's land. It so happens that the most 
 of them were penned in the Ultima Thule, the Terra Incog- 
 nita which they attempt to describe ; and very little has 
 been altered or amended since the original draft. The spirit 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 of travel is the freshest at the time the travel is enjoyed ; 
 and all impressions are then the most vivid. What is written 
 on the spot, carries with it a vraisemblance ; and, though 
 an after revision may add some polish to the style, yet to a 
 certain extent, it takes away the life and vivacity of the 
 narrative. This " polishing " and " editing " process, may 
 reduce it to a dead flat, and, like an attempt to smooth a 
 butterfly's wing, remove the bloom, and leave it but a bony 
 shard. Slang may be bearable, though it can hardly be 
 creditable ; puns may be so bad that some might call them 
 positively good ; but dullness, and a style that is heavy to 
 stupidity, are the unpardonable sins of authorship. This 
 work, however, may have all, and more than all these 
 faults. 
 
 There are no accessible books, of a late date, in our lan- 
 guage, that give either an intelligible or faithful account of 
 Iceland. The object of the following chapters has been to 
 present a readable and truthful narrative, to create some 
 interest in the people, the literature, and the productions of 
 the lonely isle of the north ; and of the good or ill perform- 
 ance of the task, the public must be the judges. 
 
 Washington City, June 1, 1854. 
 
CHAPTEE I. 
 
 "And away to the North, 'mong ice-rocks stern, 
 And among the frozen snow ; 
 To a land that is lone and desolate, 
 Will the wand'ring traveler go." 
 
 Heigho ! for Iceland. The little schooner " Soloven " 
 rides at anchor before Copenhagen. His Danish Majesty's 
 mails are on board, and at 4 o'clock, A. M., July 1st, we are 
 set on deck. Yes ; " we," and a nice lot we are, — at least a 
 round dozen, and a cabin scarcely six feet square, with 
 only six berths and a sofa. " Every berth's engaged," said 
 the captain ; " and you can't go with us." " Yes, but I can 
 though, if I sleep on deck." So I ran my chance ; and 
 when sleeping hours arrived, I was stretched out on a sort 
 of swing sofa in the middle of the cabin, suspended — like 
 Mahomet's coffin — between floor and skylight. As it turned 
 out, though I took Hobson's choice, I had altogether the 
 best berth in the ship ; the most room, and the best ventil- 
 ation. So up the Cattegat we sailed, or rather down, for 
 the current runs north, towards the German ocean. The 
 Soloven — Anglice, -sea-lion — is a capital sailer, and we 
 made good headway — the first day exactly sixteen miles ; 
 and the next morning found us fast at anchor under the 
 guns of the far-famed castle of Elsinore. Nearly a hundred 
 2 
 
18 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 vessels were in sight, wind-bound like ourselves. " There 
 goes a Yankee schooner !" says our skipper; and faith ! right 
 in the teeth of the wind it dashed by, with the stars and 
 stripes flying. How the little fellow managed to get along, 
 is more than I know ; but sail it did, and it was the only 
 craft in sight that was not at anchor. A fisherman came 
 alongside to sell some codfish he had just caught. He 
 asked a dollar and a half — nine marks, Danish — for about 
 a dozen. He and the captain were a long time pushing the 
 bargain, and finally Piscator concluded to take four marks 
 — less than half his first price. 
 
 There's no prospect of a fair wind, and most tantalizing 
 it is to be cooped up in our little craft, scarce a stone's 
 throw from shore, and right in sight of gardens, fields, 
 streams, and waving trees. Signalling for a pilot-boat, we 
 soon had one along side. These water-ousels know their 
 trade, and by a combination among them no one stirs for 
 less than five dollars. The purse was soon made up, and we 
 had a day at Elsinore. Indeed I enjoyed it. Didn't " come 
 from Wittenberg," Horatio. No, but we came from Copen- 
 hagen. Though but twenty-four hours on board, it was a 
 joyous sensation to touch the ground. A lot of people on 
 the quay ; sailors of all nations, land-lubbers — like your 
 humble servant — merchants, pilots, idlers, and various other 
 specimens of the genus homo. One nut-brown looking 
 chap, with the round jacket and flowing trowsers that gave 
 the unmistakable stamp of his profession, rolling the quid 
 in his cheek, and looking at me, sings out, " Old England 
 forever !" " Yes," says I, " and America a day longer." 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 19 
 
 Here, at Elsinore, are six or seven thousand people, who 
 subsist on contrary winds, shipwrecks, pilotage, and that 
 celebrated "toll" — a mere five-dollar bill, only — that all 
 vessels pay that trade in the Baltic. Danish vessels pay 
 nothing. If a foreign vessel passes here without paying, at 
 Copenhagen she has to pay double. This toll has been paid 
 for over 500 years ; and for this consideration, I am informed, 
 the Danish government keep up the light-houses that guide 
 the mariner in and out of the Baltic. It is not as heavy as 
 the light-house fees of most other nations. This place is 
 sacred to Shakspeare, and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and 
 Ophelia, " the beautified Ophelia " — an " ill phrase " that, a 
 " vile phrase," says old Polonius ; and their names still live, 
 albeit their imperial persons, 
 
 "dead and turned to clay, 
 
 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away." 
 
 All this the Danes seem to remember, for two splendid 
 steamers, the " Hamlet " and the " Ophelia," run regularly 
 between here and Copenhagen ; and as if to disprove the 
 poet's account, they run in unison with one another. We 
 soon found our way to the castle, about half a mile from 
 town, through a long, shady walk overhung with trees. 
 Somehow, when we read of the castle of Elsinore, and of 
 Bernardo and Francisco keeping sentry before it, and the 
 platform, and the ghost appearing there, it hardly seems as 
 if it was a real castle that we could now see and visit, and 
 climb over, and withal find sentries keeping guard over ! But 
 here it is, and as substantial and real as that of Britain's queen 
 
20 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 at Windsor. I spent an hour on its lofty battlements. Here, 
 too, is the " ordnance," such as the small-beer critics are 
 always abusing Shakspeare for having " shot off." Yes, the 
 theater manager, actor, and dramatist, in his play of Ham- 
 let, adds to his text, " ordnance shot off within" — while these 
 small-fry scribblers cry out " anachronism." Yes, they have 
 found out the wonderful fact that king Hamlet reigned here 
 about the year 1200, while gunpowder — "thy humane 
 discovery, Friar Bacon !" — was unknown for more than a 
 hundred years after. Go to : yes, go to Elsinore, and now 
 you'll find ordnance enough to fire off, and blow up all the 
 paltry criticism that has been fired at Shakspeare since he 
 first lampooned Sir Thomas Lucy. 
 
 The castle of Elsinore stands close beside the water, the 
 big guns sticking out directly over the Cattegat. On the 
 land side it is defended by bastions, cannon, moat, gates, 
 and draw-bridge. The castle covers, perhaps, two acres of 
 ground, inclosing a hollow square or court yard in the cen- 
 ter. It is unlike any other castellated pile I have ever seen. 
 At the corners are towers of different heights ; the tallest 
 one is about 175 feet high, and looks like a pile of Dutch 
 cheeses, the largest at the bottom. The party I was with 
 were all Danes ; and, though their language is cousin-Ger- 
 man to our Anglo-Saxon, and I could in part understand it, 
 as if " native and to the manor born," yet I preferred my 
 own. With another party was a very pretty and intelligent 
 German girl, who spoke English, and was acquainted with 
 the place ; and to her I was indebted for the best viva voce 
 account that I had. We were first taken into the chapel, a 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 21 
 
 small and very neat place of worship in the south-east angle 
 of the castle. The glaring and rather gaudy style of the 
 coats of arms of the royal and noble families whose dead 
 are here, gave it something of a gingerbread appearance ; 
 but otherwise I liked it. I looked in vain for a monument 
 to Mr. Shakspeare's hero. Could I have found that skull 
 of Yorick, " the king's jester," I think I should have carried 
 it off as a sacred relic, and made a present of it to Ned 
 Forrest. Alas ! no Yorick, no Hamlet, no Polonius — not 
 one of their " pictures in little," nor even a slab to their 
 memory, could I see. We ascended one of the corner tow- 
 ers — used as a light-house and observatory, and provided 
 with telescopes — from whence we had a fine view of the 
 Cattegat, the island of Zeeland, and the lofty range of 
 Swedish mountains on the opposite coast. Directly across 
 the strait, some three miles distant, is the Swedish town of 
 Helsingborg, a place about the size of Elsinore. The promi- 
 nent object in it is a tall square tower, probably the steeple 
 of a church. In one room of the castle, where I could 
 fancy the "melancholy Dane" in his "inky cloak," the 
 Queen, with " her husband's brother," and Rosencrantz and 
 Guildernstern, and old blear-eyed Polonius, too, there was a 
 broad fire-place, with the mantel-piece supported by cary- 
 atidae on each side. When some of our scenic artists are 
 painting " a room in the castle " of Elsinore, for a scene in 
 Hamlet, if they have no better guide, they may remember 
 the above slight description, if they please. Any traveler 
 visiting Elsinore, will find this room in the northeast corner 
 of the castle, and on the second or third floor. We walked 
 
22 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 out on the ramparts, and saw a few soldiers : wonder if any 
 of them have the name of Bernardo or Francisco ! The men 
 on guard were lolling lazily about, not walking back and 
 forth like English or American sentries. The smooth-mown 
 embankments, the well-mounted' guns, and the " ball-piled 
 pyramid," with the neat appearance of the soldiers, showed 
 the good condition in which the castle is kept. No marks 
 of ruin or decay are visible. I tried to find some musket 
 bullet, or something besides a mere pebble, that I could take 
 away as a souvenir, but I could get nothing. A woman 
 was in attendance in the chapel, but no one accompanied us 
 about the castle; no gratuities were asked, no "guides" 
 proffered their obsequious services ; but I believe the Ger- 
 man party knew the locality, for we found " open sesame " on 
 every latch. I thanked the fair German for her explana- 
 tion ; and we walked to town, back, through the avenue of 
 trees. At four we went to a hotel, and had a capital dinner. 
 I then strolled about the place, looked at the " sights " — all 
 there were to be found — went to a book-store and a toy- 
 shop, and bought some prints and some little porcelain 
 dolls. 
 
 A very merry day I've had at Elsinore, on the firm earth ; 
 and now for the rocking ship. Yes, a pleasant day we've 
 had, but perhaps we shall pay for it hereafter. 
 
 Our voyage through the Cattegat had all the delay and 
 uncertainty that ever attends these waters. Strong cur- 
 rents and light and contrary winds make the passage slow ; 
 but it is usually far easier coming out than going into the 
 Baltic. In a few days we were north of the German ocean, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 23 
 
 beating along the Norway coast with a northwest wind. 
 We passed for two days near the land, and had a good view 
 of the bold mountain scenery northwest of Christiansand. 
 Long piles of mountains, reaching often clear to the water's 
 edge, showed a poor country for cultivation. The most dis- 
 tant were covered with snow, but the nearest were all of that 
 deep brown tint that reveals a scanty vegetation. Some- 
 times the strip of green meadow land near the water had a 
 house on it here and there ; and once or twice villages of 
 twenty or thirty buildings were seen, all built of wood, and 
 covered with red tiles. We saw none of those famous for- 
 ests of Norway pine, where the ship timber grows, and 
 which English ship-builders tell you is " from the Baltic." 
 These must be in the interior. On the fourth of July I was 
 determined to have some fun. The captain had two small 
 cannon on board, and I asked him if I might have some 
 powder to wake up my patriotism. Yes, he was quite 
 willing. I produced some of the good things needful, lem- 
 ons, sugar, et cetera, and told the captain to mix a monster 
 bowl of punch. He was good at it ; the punch was capital, 
 and was soon smoking on the table. Our cannon were iron 
 pieces, not quite heavy enough to knock down the Avails of 
 Badajos, but still of size sufficient for our purpose. They 
 were mounted on each side of the vessel, and revolved on 
 swivels. The powder was furnished, and we banged away, 
 waking up the echoes of liberty from all the Norwegian 
 mountains. I have no doubt but the pilots along the shore 
 were considerably astonished. Now, says the captain, we 
 want the oration. So up I jumped to the top of the boom, and 
 
24 RAMBLES TN ICELAXD. 
 
 in about nine minutes and a quarter, gave them the whole 
 account of the cause, the means, and the manner of Brother 
 Jonathan " lickin' the Britishers." The captain translated 
 it for the benefit of the Danish and Icelandic passengers, 
 and they applauded both the orator and translator. The 
 punch was glorious, the oration was undoubtedly a grand 
 one, the cannon spoke up their loudest ; and altogether, for a 
 celebration got up by one live Yankee, it probably has never 
 been surpassed since Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. It 
 was a most beautiful evening, and very pleasing to think 
 that at that very hour millions of my countrymen, far far 
 away over the plains and valleys of my native land, were 
 enjoying the festivities of a day, the events of which will 
 be remembered till time shall be no more. 
 
 The weather was pleasant for some days, and we were 
 gradually wafted towards the northwest. Vessels bound to 
 the southwest of Iceland, from Denmark, generally sail near 
 Fair Isle, passing between the Shetlands and the Orkneys. 
 We were carried much further north, the ninth day finding 
 us near the lofty cliffs of the Faroes. I thought after 
 getting past the parallel of 60° north, in the latitude of 
 Greenland, that the weather would be perceptibly colder ; 
 and probably it would with the wind constantly from the 
 west or northwest; but with a southwest breeze we had 
 mild, pleasant, summer weather. Sea-birds, particularly 
 gulls, were our constant companions, and while near the 
 Faroe Isles they came about us in immense numbers. One 
 day one of these lubberly children of the ocean tumbled 
 down on the deck, and to save his life he couldn't rise 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 25 
 
 again. He was on an exploring expedition, and I've no 
 doubt he learned something. He didn't seem to admire the 
 arrangements about our ship very much, and altogether he 
 seemed out of his element. We had one or two confounded 
 ugly women on board, and I don't think he liked the looks 
 of them very much. I pitied his case, and raising him up 
 in the air, he took wing and soared away. No doubt he 
 will ever retain pleasant recollections of his Yankee ac- 
 quaintance, one of a race, who, enjoying their own liberty, 
 greatly like to see others enjoy it too. We had a fine view 
 of the magnificent cliffs of the Faroe Isles, some of them 
 nearly three thousand feet high. They are basaltic, and 
 often columnar, looking much like the cliffs about the Gi- 
 ant's Causeway and Fingal's Cave at Staffa, but far higher. 
 We continued our course to the westward, lost sight of 
 land, and for some days were floating on a smooth sea, with 
 very little wind. How destitute of shipping is the North- 
 ern ocean ! For near two weeks we did not see a sail. 
 Whales frequently came near the vessel, blowing water from 
 their spout like a jet from a fountain. In my travels by sea 
 I had never seen a whale before, and I looked on their gam- 
 bols with much interest. The sight of them very naturally 
 called up the words of the good old New-England hymn : 
 
 " Ye monsters of the bubbling deep, 
 
 Your Maker's praises spout ; 
 Up from the sands ye codlings peep, 
 
 And wag your tails about." 
 
 It must be understood that I'm fond of quotations, par- 
 ticularly poetry ; and all must admit that this is a very 
 
26 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 appropriate one. Why couldn't good old Cotton Mather, 
 or some of his compeers, have given us some more of this 
 sort? Perhaps he did, but if so, my memory has not 
 recorded them. 
 
 The noise of a whale spouting can be heard from one to 
 two miles. He throws the water from thirty to fifty feet 
 high. The whale rises clear to the surface of the water, 
 gives one "blow" and instantly goes under. He generally 
 rises again in one or two minutes, but is sometimes under 
 five minutes. Once as I sat on the bowsprit watching two 
 or three that were playing about, one swam nearly under 
 me, rose up, blew a blast with his water-trumpet, giving me 
 quite a sprinkling, and then sank. I had a good opportu- 
 nity to see him, and got a fair view of his breathing pipe. 
 It was a round hole in the top of his head, had a slight rim 
 round it, and I should think was about two inches and a 
 half in diameter. This animal, as near as I could judge, 
 was between sixty and seventy feet in length. The top of 
 his head and shoulders was broad and flat, and near or 
 quite twelve feet across. His back, instead of appearing 
 round, was nearly level, and showed room enough for a 
 quartette of Highlanders to have danced a reel thereon. 
 'Twould have been a rather slippery floor though, and I 
 think a dancer would have needed nails in his shoes. 
 
 Loud sung out the captain one day, and looking over 
 the side, close to the ship, deep under the clear water, we 
 saw a shark. ! it makes me feel savage to see one of 
 these monsters, I want to cut out his heart's blood. Many a 
 good Christian do these villains swallow. The captain told 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 2*7 
 
 us that one Christmas day when he was in the Pacific, a 
 shark came near, and a large hook baited with a piece of 
 pork was thrown into the water ; he instantly seized it, and 
 they hauled the monster up the ship's side, and an officer 
 on board drew his sword and cut him nearly in two, before 
 he was allowed on deck. Each passenger took some part 
 of him as a trophy of their Christmas-day fishing. 
 
 I had a few books on board, and did the best I could to 
 make the time pass agreeably. But with all our resources, 
 literary, ornithological, piscatorial, and miscellaneous, there 
 were many dull hours. One calm day I got out my writing 
 materials, and thought I would write a letter, or a chapter 
 of these wanderings. After getting fairly engaged, a sudden 
 shower seemed to dash over me ; and looking up, a sailor 
 " high on the giddy mast," while painting the yard had 
 upset his paint pot, and down the white shower came on my 
 hat, coat, paper and every thing around. We must take 
 things coolly on shipboard, as well as elsewhere, I sup- 
 pose ; for there is no use in getting vexed, whatever may 
 chance. As for the letter, I sent that to its destination, 
 with all its imperfections on its head. I scraped the paint 
 off my hat, and the mate and I set to work to clean my 
 coat. After scrubbing it an hour or two, we fastened a rope 
 to it, and throwing it overboard, let it drag in the sea a few 
 hours. The soapsuds and old Neptune together took nearly 
 all the paint out, but it never entirely recovered from the 
 effects of the shower from the mainmast. As for books, I 
 left England with the very smallest amount of luggage pos- 
 sible, restricting myself in the reading line, to my small 
 
28 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Bible, Sir George Mackenzie's Travels in Iceland, and one 
 or two more. At Copenhagen, I purchased six or eight 
 volumes of Leipsic reprints of English works — what the 
 publisher calls "Tauchnitz's edition of standard English 
 authors ; " some of them are English works, but by what 
 rule of nationality he reckons among his English authors 
 the works of Cooper and Irving, I do not know. Among 
 the volumes I purchased, were some from Shakspeare, 
 Byron, Scott, Dickens, and Bulwer. I found my reading, 
 as I knew I should, quite too scanty. I would have given 
 something for Diodorus Siculus, and good old Froissart ; 
 two books that it would take a pretty long sea-voyage to 
 get through. 
 
 Among our passengers were two or three of the digni- 
 taries of Iceland ; one Sysselman, and the landfoged or 
 treasurer of the island, William Finsen, Esq. On leaving 
 London I took two or three late American papers with me ; 
 and in one of them, the " Literary World," there was by 
 chance, a notice of a late meeting of the Society of 
 Northern Antiquaries at Copenhagen. Among the names 
 of distinguished persons present, there were mentioned 
 some Danes, some Englishmen, and "some Americans," 
 and among the latter, William Finsen Esq. of Iceland ! 
 I showed this to Mr. Treasurer Finsen, and he was greatly 
 amused to learn that he was a Yankee. We had among 
 our passengers several ladies — one, a Miss Johnson, a 
 very pretty, intelligent, modest-appearing Iceland lassie, 
 who had finished her education at Copenhagen, and was 
 returning to her native land to establish a female school. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 29 
 
 The domestic animals on board, were one large, curly-haired, 
 black dog, who rejoiced in the name of " Neeger," and four 
 rather youthful swine, who were confined, or rather were 
 pretended to be confined, in a box. The first day out they 
 leaped the barriers of their stye, and made a dinner on the 
 slender contents of several flower pots that the lady pas- 
 sengers were taking out to cheer the windows of their 
 parlors in their Iceland homes. The discovery of the 
 depredation was any thing but pleasant, and I believe had 
 the " prices of stock " been taken at that time, live pork 
 would have been quoted as falling, and if not clear down, 
 would have been decided to be, on that ship, a thorough 
 bore. Though they went the "whole hog" — the entire 
 animal in the floral line— that day, they did not sleep or 
 feast on roses all the voyage. They did not like their 
 quarters overmuch, and would usually manage at least once 
 a day, to get out and go on an exploring expedition round 
 the deck. 
 
 Our living on board was, I believe, as it usually is on 
 Danish merchant vessels. It consisted principally of a thin, 
 watery compound called " soup," of black potatoes, black 
 beef, and yet blacker bread. At the evening meal we had 
 for drink, hot water frightened into a faint color by a gentle 
 infusion of China's favorite plant. This drink our captain 
 called "tea." Believing that good order on shipboard is 
 much promoted by subordination and submission to the 
 commanding officer, I never used to tell him it wasn't 
 "tea." If strength, however, is a sign of life, I must say 
 that this showed very little sign of vitality. It probably 
 
30 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 contained at least half a teaspoonful of tea, to a gallon of 
 water ; but Oh ! that black bread ! it was not so bad an 
 article, though, after all. We had one blacker thing on 
 board, and that was our dog " Nigger." The good boys 
 and girls in America, who eat "Indian bread," "wheat 
 bread," "shortcake" and "johnny cake," have all read of 
 the peasants of Europe living on " black bread," and 
 wonder what it is. It is made of rye, ground, but not 
 bolted much, if any ; and the bread is very dark, a good deal 
 darker than corn bread. At first I did not like it very 
 well, and at Elsinore I purchased a couple of large wheaten 
 loaves. This bread is very dear : I paid half a dollar a 
 loaf; these lasted me about ten days, but before that time, 
 the mould had struck clear through them. Not so the 
 black bread. That keeps much better than wheaten bread. 
 The mould walks into it gradually however, but thoroughly. 
 At first there appeared a green coat, on the side that stood 
 next to another loaf in baking. This coat of mould kept 
 growing deeper and deeper, getting first the eighth of an 
 inch, then a quarter of an inch, and before the end of the 
 voyage, over half an inch deep of solid green. Inside of 
 this the loaf was moist and fresh ; and certainly, after getting 
 used to it, it is very good bread. It was the " staff of life " 
 with us; and considerably like a staff the loaves were, being 
 in size and appearance about like a couple of feet of scant- 
 ling cut out of the heart of an oak. So much for living on 
 shipboard. If we did not fare like princes, we had the 
 consolation of knowing that the fares we paid were very 
 light. So bad fare and light fares went together; and that 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 31 
 
 made it all fair. On the fifteenth day out, we first saw the 
 coast of Iceland. It was an irregular, rocky promontory, 
 ending in Cape Reykianess, the southwestern extremity of 
 the island. In two days we saw and passed the "Meal 
 sack," — (Danish Meel sakken) — a singular rock island 
 about eight miles southwest of Cape Reykianess. While 
 passing I took a drawing of it, and certainly very much 
 like a bag of meal it looks. It is near 200 feet high, and 
 about that in diameter, apparently perpendicular all round ; 
 on the north a little more so ! All over its craggy sides, 
 we could see thousands of sea-birds. As sunset approached 
 we saw great numbers of gannets flying towards it, going 
 to rest for the night. This bird, known as the solan 
 goose, is larger than a goose, and while flying, from its 
 peculiar color has a most singular appearance. They are 
 white, except the outer half of the wing, the feet, and the 
 bill, which are jet black, and the head a sort of brownish 
 yellow. A word more about these birds, and some others, 
 hereafter. Southwest of the Meal sack a few miles, is 
 another singular island called "the Grenadier." It is a 
 most striking looking object, standing up out of the ocean 
 several hundred feet high, like some tall giant or lofty 
 pillar. What a constant screaming of sea fowl there is at 
 all times about these lonely islands ! But where is the 
 night in this northern latitude, in the summer season ? Ask 
 the lovely twilight that continues for the two or three hours 
 that the sun is below the horizon. At midnight I read a 
 chapter in the Bible, in fine print, with perfect ease. At 
 a distance of several miles I could tell the dividing line 
 
32 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 between the rocks and the vegetation on the mountains- 
 And what a splendid panorama of mountain scenery this 
 singular country presents ! unlike any thing that I have 
 ever seen on the face of the globe. Finally on the nine- 
 teenth day of our voyage, our little bark dropped anchor in 
 the harbor of Reykjavik, and our cannon announced to the 
 Icelanders the arrival of the " Post ship " with letters and 
 friends from Denmark. Then with expectation about to be 
 gratified, I stepped ashore on the rocky coast of Iceland. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 There is not one atom of yon eartL, 
 Bat once was living man ; 
 Nor the minutest drop of rain 
 That hangeth in its thinnest clone?, 
 But flowed in human veins; 
 And from the burning plains 
 Where Lybian monsters yell, 
 From the most gloomy glens 
 Of Greenland's sunless clime, 
 To where the golden fields 
 Of fertile England spread 
 Their harvest to the day ; 
 Thou canst not find one spot 
 "Whereon no city stood. 
 
 Shelley. 
 
 And this is Iceland ! — but I see no ice. This is the island 
 that is shown to ns in our geographical books and maps, as 
 a small white spot on the borders of the Arctic ocean, and 
 described as a cold, dreary, and uninteresting region, in- 
 habited by a few dwarfish and ignorant people, who have 
 little knowledge of the world, and of whom little is known. 
 The names of one or two of its mountains are given, and 
 some place is mentioned as its capital or largest town. 
 That the country itself, or any thing that is to be found here, 
 is worth a journey to see, or that the history or habits of 
 the people possesses any degree of interest, has not, proba- 
 
34 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 bly, crossed the minds of a thousand persons. There is, 
 however, a vague tradition, and some persons actually be- 
 lieve that the Icelanders or some other people from among 
 the northern nations, once sailed to the American shores, 
 prior to the voyages of Columbus. What may be the 
 prominent characteristics of this Ultima Thule — this far- 
 thest land — what its productions are, how extensive the 
 country, how numerous the population, and how the people 
 live, there have been few means of knowing. But Iceland 
 is not a myth, it is actual and real, a solid portion of the 
 earth's surface. It is not, either, what every one supposes, 
 nor what we have reason to believe it is, from its name, its 
 location, and the meager descriptions we have had of it. 
 But it has not been thought advisable to leave this country 
 entirely alone, especially in an age of travel and discovery 
 like the present. The Yankee is here ; his feet tread its 
 heath-clad hills and snow-covered mountains. He has 
 boiled his dinner in the hot-springs, cooled his punch in 
 snow a hundred years old, and toasted his shins by a vol- 
 canic fire. But a "chiel" may come and take his notes : 
 every thing of interest, past events and present existing 
 things, can not be seen by one pair of eyes. Let us draw 
 a little from the manuscripts of the Iceland historians. We 
 can find as reliable and as permanent records of this people, 
 and their early voyages and discoveries, as we have of the 
 voyages of Columbus, the warlike achievements of William 
 the Conqueror, or the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 These records are the "Sagas" or historical writings of 
 the Icelanders, written soon after the events transpired ; and 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 35 
 
 they are now in existence in the public libraries of Iceland 
 and Denmark. Some of these are in Latin, some in the old 
 Norse, and some in Icelandic ; and duplicates of some of 
 the more important have been made by publishing them in 
 facsimile, just as they stand on the original parchment. 
 The most important of these record with a good deal of 
 minuteness the " Ante-Columbian discovery of America." 
 Some account of the early history of this singular people, 
 and particularly a notice of the early voyages of the North- 
 men, which I gathered from historical records here in Ice- 
 land, and from the Icelanders themselves while traveling 
 through the land, will be of interest before speaking of the 
 present appearance of the country. 
 
 Iceland was first discovered by Naddod, a Norwegian 
 pirate, in the year 860, almost one thousand years ago. He 
 was thrown on the coast in the winter, and from the ap- 
 pearance of the country, he called it Snseland, or " Snow- 
 land." Four years after, Gardar Swarfarson, a Swede, cir- 
 cumnavigating it, found it an island, and named it " Gar- 
 dar's Holm" or Gardar's Isle. His account of the country 
 was so favorable, that Floki, another sea-rover, went there 
 to settle ; but neglecting to cut hay in the summer, his cattle 
 perished in the winter. From the vast accumulations of ice 
 on the west coast, ice that was driven over from Greenland, 
 he called the country Iceland, a name it has ever since 
 borne. In 8*74, the first permanent settlement was made in 
 Iceland, by Ingolf a Norwegian chieftain. Greenland was 
 discovered in 980, one hundred and twenty years after the 
 discovery of Iceland. In 982, Eric surnamed the Red, sailed 
 
Sb RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 to Greenland, and, in 986, established a settlement there 
 which flourished for more than four hundred years. To in- 
 duce settlers to go and reside in the new country, the most 
 fabulous accounts were given of the climate and productions. 
 The face of the country was represented as clothe^ in green, 
 and it was even stated that "every plant dropped butter." 
 The name of Greenland thus given to it, was as great a 
 misnomer as Iceland applied to the neighboring isle. In re- 
 ality, the two countries should change names ; for Iceland is 
 a country of green fields and fair flowers, while Greenland is 
 covered with almost perpetual ice and snow. Eric the Red 
 had a companion in his Greenland settlement, whose name 
 was Heriulf. Biarni, the son of Heriulf, sailed from Iceland 
 to join his father in Greenland, was driven south, and landed 
 on the American coast — probably Labrador. Thus, the first 
 discovery of America by Europeans was in the year 986, by 
 Biarni Heriulfson, a native of Norway, though he sailed 
 from Iceland. He returned north, landed in Greenland, and 
 gave an account of his discovery. Subsequent voyages to 
 the American coast, were made by Leif and his two 
 brothers, sons of Eric the Red, who after the style of 
 names in Iceland were called Ericsson. I am speaking on 
 good authority in saying that a gifted Swede, now an 
 American citizen, and most prominent before the world, is 
 a direct descendant of Eric and his son. I allude to Cap- 
 tain Ericsson, the inventor of the Caloric ship, a pioneer in 
 American discovery, and a worthy descendant of the Eric- 
 ssons, pioneers in the discovery of America. Another 
 interesting fact may be noted. • Among the early settlers in 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 37 
 
 America — for a settlement was formed, that continued several 
 years — some of the men had their wives with them. One 
 of these, the wife of Thorfin, while in America, gave birth 
 to a son, who was named Snorre. This Snorre Thorfinson, 
 was the first native-born American of whom we have ariy 
 account, and may be set down as the first Yankee on 
 record. From this Thorfinson was descended Thorwaldsen, 
 and also Finn Magnusen the historian and antiquary, so 
 that we can almost claim the great sculptor of the North 
 and the great historian, as Americans. These facts I 
 gathered from Icelandic genealogical tables; and all who 
 have investigated the history of the northern nations, know 
 with what accuracy these tables are compiled. To return 
 a little in my narrative. Leif Ericsson having purchased 
 the ship of Biarni Heriulfson, sailed from Greenland in the 
 year 1000. The first land he made he called Helluland, or 
 " land of broad flat stones." This was doubtless the coast 
 of Newfoundland. The next coast he saw was covered 
 with forest, and consequently he named it Markland, or 
 " Woodland." This was probably Nova Scotia. The next 
 land he discovered, still farther south, produced vines and 
 grapes, and this he named- " Vinland," a name the Ice- 
 landers ever afterwards used in speaking of the American 
 Continent. We have the best of proof in their account of 
 the climate and productions, in the length of the days, as 
 well as in their maps and drawings, that their settlement 
 was on some part of our New-England coast, probably 
 Massachusetts or Rhode Island. In subsequent voyages, 
 these adventurous navigators sailed farther south ; and it is 
 
38 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 supposed from the account they gave, that they proceeded 
 as far as Virginia and the Carolinas. Timber, furs and 
 grapes, were the most valuable articles the country pro- 
 duced ; and for these, several voyages were made to Vinland, 
 from Greenland, houses were built, and settlers resided in 
 the country for at least three years; from 1011 to 1014. 
 In their intercourse with the Indians, the Iceland and 
 Greenland adventurers carried on their business about after 
 the same political code that Raleigh, John Smith, and 
 others, did afterwards. They first traded with the Indians, 
 then fought them. They sold them red cloth in strips the 
 width of a finger's length, and in return, received their furs 
 and skins. As their cloth grew scarce, they cut the strips 
 narrower ; and finding they could buy just as many skins 
 for a strip an inch wide, as if it was four inches, they cut it 
 narrower and narrower, till they got it down to a finger's 
 breadth. The Indians bound it about their heads, and were 
 greatly delighted with its ornamental appearance. Finally 
 the red cloth grew scarce, and then the Indians gave their 
 furs for soup and other eatables; and thus, — to use the 
 words of an Iceland historian, they "carried off their bar- 
 gains in their bellies." In the first skirmish that occurred 
 in the new settlement, the Northmen seemed to get the 
 worst of it, and fled towards their boats, when Freydisa, 
 daughter of Eric the Red, and wife of Thorvard, caught up 
 a spear and turned on the Indians, reproaching her country- 
 men for their cowardice. By her heroic example, the 
 Indians were defeated, so we find that the successful issue of 
 the first battle between Europeans and North American 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 39 
 
 Indians, was owing to the courage of a woman. Voyages 
 continued to be made to America, from both Greenland and 
 Iceland, to as late a period as the middle of the fourteenth 
 century. The last trip of which we have any record, is that 
 of a vessel sent from Greenland to Markland (Nova Scotia) 
 for timber and other articles. While returning, it encount- 
 ered heavy storms, and was driven into port in the west of 
 Iceland. The old Greenland settlements continued for a 
 long period, the latest account we possess, coming down to 
 the year 1484. When they perished, or from what cause, 
 is unknown. Remains of churches and other buildings are 
 found there to this day. We now come to one of the 
 most significant facts connected with the discovery of the 
 American continent. It is doubly proved in the records of 
 that period, that Columbus sailed to Iceland, in the 
 year 1477. An account of this is given by the Iceland 
 historians, and published in the " Antiquitates Americanse." 
 It is also recorded by Columbus himself, in a work of his 
 " on the five habitable zones of the earth." In this book, 
 which is now extremely rare, he says, in the month of 
 February, 1477, he visited Iceland, "where the sea was not 
 at that time covered with ice, and which had been resorted 
 to by many traders from Bristol." It will be remembered 
 that John and Sebastian Cabot were both from Bristol. 
 Humboldt, in his " Cosmos," speaks of this voyage of 
 Columbus to Iceland, and of the record of it made by the 
 great navigator himself in his work on the zones. Hum- 
 boldt also speaks at considerable length of the early voy- 
 ages of the Icelanders and Greenlanders to America ; and of 
 
40 RAMBLES IN -ICELAND. 
 
 all these events he speaks as he does of other well-estab- 
 lished historical facts. So let us hear no more of the 
 "vague tradition," the mere "thought" or "belief," that 
 America was known to the early navigators of the north. 
 Let it be spoken of as one of the well-known, and clearly- 
 authenticated historical facts in the history of the world. 
 It takes nothing from the merits and reputation of Colum- 
 bus. And what if it did ? The reader of history is a 
 seeker after truth, and most certainly the writer of history 
 should be. During the visit of Columbus to Iceland, he 
 might have conversed in Latin with the bishop of Skalholt, 
 or other learned Icelanders, on the subject of the early 
 voyages of the Northmen to America, but this does not 
 seem at all probable. Had this been the case, some record 
 or mention of it would probably have been made, either in 
 the writings of Columbus or of cotemporary historians. 
 Then, too, in his early struggles to obtain material aid to 
 prosecute his geographical researches, he omitted no facts 
 or arguments that would be likely to convince the kings 
 and queens whom he applied to, that his theory of the 
 earth was correct, and that land would be found by sailing 
 to the west. His first voyage, too, was for the purpose of 
 finding China or the Indies, and not in the direction of the 
 Vinland of the Northmen. When he discovered land, he 
 believed it to be some part of the East Indies ; and, to the 
 day of his death, Columbus never knew that he was the 
 discoverer of a new continent. One of the oldest of the 
 sagas or historical documents from which the facts were 
 gathered respecting the early discovery and settlement of 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 41 
 
 America, was the saga of Eric the Red. The statements in 
 this and other historical papers, are corroborated in old 
 Iceland geographies, and also by some European writers, 
 particularly by Adam of Bremen, a theological writer, 
 nephew of Canute, King of England. He says that while 
 he was in the north, propagating Christianity, Swein Eth- 
 rithson, King of Denmark, gave him an account of these 
 discoveries. This was about the year 1070. 
 
 If we trace the history of Iceland from its first settle- 
 ment to the present time, we shall find that the intelligence, 
 activity, prosperity, and happiness of the people, and the 
 rise and progress of the arts and sciences among them, has 
 been exactly proportioned to the liberal and republican 
 spirit of their government. For fifty-four years — from the 
 first settlement of Iceland, in 874, to the year 928 — it was 
 a Norwegian colony, governed by chiefs. As the popula- 
 tion increased, and the infant settlement waxed strong, diffi- 
 culties arose between the rulers and the ruled ; and finally 
 the people threw off their allegiance, framed a constitution, 
 and set up a republican government, which continued for 
 333 years. The close of this era was in the year 1261. 
 All the native historians agree in calling this the Golden 
 Age of Iceland. During this period Greenland was dis- 
 covered and settled, the continent of America was dis- 
 covered, and an enterprising, daring, and successful series 
 of voyages was carried on, that eclipsed the efforts of all 
 previous navigators. Christianity was established and bish- 
 ops appointed both in Iceland and Greenland, poetry and 
 history were cultivated, and a degree of intellectual activity 
 
42 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 was shown, beyond that of any country in the north of Eu- 
 rope. Thrown on their own resources, in a cold and dreary 
 climate, the same causes operated in raising up a vigorous, 
 moral, and intellectual people, that was shown in the his- 
 tory of our own Pilgrim Fathers. It was during this 
 period that the most valuable and important sagas were 
 prepared and written; papers that show the successful 
 enterprise of the northern voyagers. "The wonderfully 
 organized free state of Iceland maintained its independence 
 for three centuries and a half, until civil freedom was anni- 
 hilated, and the country became subject to Hako VI. King 
 of Norway. The flower of Icelandic literature, its historical 
 records, and the collection of the sagas and eddas, apper- 
 tain to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries." * During 
 these two centuries, their poets — skalds or minstrels — 
 visited nearly every court in Europe, and composed and 
 sung their lyrical productions. They were attached to the 
 suites of kings and princes, attended warriors to the battle 
 field, and celebrated the exploits of their employers in 
 undying verse. Instances are recorded, where a king has 
 died, that his praises were sung so ably by his minstrel 
 that he was installed in his place, and filled the vacant 
 throne. In the Iceland republic the chief officer was 
 called the " Laugman," or administrator of the laws. He 
 was elected by universal suffrage. Their national assembly 
 or congress was known as the "Althing," and had both 
 legislative and judiciary powers. The members were 
 
 * Humboldt's Cosmos. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 43 
 
 elected by ballot, and when they met formed but one body, 
 the president, or laugman, presiding over their delibera- 
 tions. They assembled in the open air at a place called 
 Thingvalla, and large numbers of the people gathered 
 round them as spectators. I walked over the ground, 
 where this primitive congress had met for nearly a thou- 
 sand years. It is a raised circle of earth, shaped like an 
 amphitheater, and now overgrown with grass. On one 
 side was a mound, a little higher than the rest, where the 
 president sat. Though the powers of the Althing were 
 greatly abridged at the fall of the republic, yet they have 
 continued to meet in this house, without a roof, until the 
 year 1800. At that time the Althing was removed to 
 Reykjavik, and has ever since met in a building. Their ses- 
 sions are annual, and always held in the summer. At the 
 end of each session, a journal of their proceedings and re- 
 ports of the debates are published in a volume. The Ice- 
 landers have ever regretted, and with good reason, the 
 removal of their congressional meetings from the primitive 
 location of Thingvalla, to the town of Reykjavik, where 
 they are surrounded by dissipation and the corrupting 
 influence of foreign merchants. The scene at Thingvalla, 
 at the time of my visit, July, 1852, was solitary, quiet, and 
 peaceful. Oxen, sheep, and horses, were grazing on every 
 side ; and the mower was whetting his scythe and cutting 
 the grass where legislators and grave judges had assembled 
 and made laws for the people. The scenery is grand and 
 picturesque. It is directly before the Thingvalla lake, the 
 largest in Iceland, and surrounded, on the north and east, 
 
44 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 by lofty mountains. Thingvalla has thus been the legisla- 
 tive capital of Iceland, until its final removal to Reykjavik, 
 in the year 1800 ; though Skalholt — once the location of 
 a church and a bishop's see, though now nothing but a 
 farm — is erroneously given as the capital, in the most of 
 our books of geography. 
 
 Foes within, not enemies without, overthrew the Ice- 
 land republic. A corrupt body of chiefs and rulers sold 
 it to Norway, in the year 1261 ; and, one hundred and 
 nineteen years afterwards — in 1380 — it was, with that 
 power, transferred to Denmark ; and under the government 
 of that country it has ever since remained. Until about 
 the year 1490, their maritime trade was open to all nations, 
 and vessels of every flag were allowed to take cargoes to 
 Iceland. After that, for three hundred years, the commerce 
 of the country was either held by the Danish crown or 
 farmed out to merchants and traders, and often to foreign 
 companies. The only rule of action in letting out the trade 
 of the country seemed to be, to dispose of it to the highest 
 bidder. The most of these companies oppressed and starved 
 the poor Icelanders into compliance with the most rigorous 
 and exacting measures. As the country produced neither 
 grain, fruit, coal, nor wood, they were dependent on com- 
 merce with foreign countries for all the luxuries and many 
 of the necessaries of life. Trade being taken entirely out 
 of the hands of the Icelanders, they necessarily grew dis- 
 spirited ; their ambition was crushed, and, though ardently 
 attached to their country, they could but mourn over their 
 unhappy lot* Since 1788, commercial affairs have been on 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 45 
 
 but little better footing, the trade being entirely in the 
 hands of the Danish merchants, but not farmed out to a 
 company. The trade, foreign and domestic, is open to both 
 Danes and Icelanders, but to no others. No foreign vessels 
 are allowed to visit Iceland for purposes of traffic, unless 
 they carry coal or timber, or go with cash to buy the pro- 
 ducts of the country. As there are no merchants but 
 Danes in all the commercial towns, foreign traders would 
 never find purchasers for their cargoes of timber or coal 
 were they to go there. 
 
 At this time the legislative powers of Iceland are vested 
 in the Althing, and presided over by the governor, who is 
 called the Stifftamptman. This body is composed of twen- 
 ty-six members, one from each county or syssel — twenty in 
 number, elected by ballot — and six appointed by the king. 
 All the members of the Althing must be residents of the 
 country, but they may be either Danes or Icelanders. 
 When an act is passed by a majority, it must be sent to 
 Copenhagen for the approval of the king, and if not signed 
 by him does not become a law. The Icelanders very natu- 
 rally desire "free trade," and wish to have their ports 
 thrown open to the competition of the world; but the 
 Danish merchants and ship-owners in Iceland and Den- 
 mark, enjoying as they now do, a monopoly of the com- 
 merce, are all opposed to this. In the session of 1851, the 
 king's councillors — the six he appointed — prepared a bill, 
 and introduced it, allowing foreign vessels to trade here, 
 but with the proviso that they should pay a tonnage duty 
 of about one rix-dollar per ton. The trade of Iceland being 
 
46 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 neither extensive nor lucrative, this would amount to just 
 about a complete prohibition. The other members nearly 
 all opposed the bill, saying, " Give us free trade or nothing ;" 
 and it never passed the house. The governor was incensed 
 to see the will of his royal master thwarted ; and like some 
 governors in our old colonial times, he dissolved the Al- 
 thing, and they broke up in a grand row. It was adjourned 
 over for two years, to meet again in 1853. The friends of 
 free and unrestricted trade, in Iceland, are in hopes of hav- 
 ing a law passed before many years, opening their ports to 
 the ships of all nations alike. The " StifFtamptman " or 
 governor is appointed by the king, and holds his office du- 
 ring the pleasure of His Majesty. He is usually a Danish 
 nobleman, and receives a salary of 3,000 rix-dollars a year, 
 which is paid by the Danish government. There are three 
 amptmen or deputy governors, residing in the northern, 
 southern, and eastern quarters of the island. The StifFt- 
 amptman, residing in the west, renders a fourth amptman 
 unnecessary. The governor presides at all sessions of the 
 Althing, manages all state affairs, presides over the post- 
 office department, and carrying the mails, and is in every 
 respect the head of the state, without a cabinet or advisers. 
 There is a treasurer — or landfoged, as he is termed — who 
 is also appointed by the crown, and receives a salary of 
 2,000 rix-dollars a year. The public funds are kept in an 
 iron chest in the governor's house, under the protection of 
 a double lock and two keys, one of which is kept by the 
 governor and the other by the treasurer. Both of these 
 are necessary to open the chest. The principal officer in 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 47 
 
 each county, or syssel, is called the sysselman, and is elected 
 by the people. The sysselman is both sheriff and magis- 
 trate ; and all suits at law in his syssel are tried before him, 
 an appeal being allowed to the Supreme Court at Reykjavik. 
 The Supreme Court is presided over by the chief justice, 
 who is appointed by the crown, and holds his office perma- 
 nently. The sysselmen, in their respective syssels, call all pub- 
 lic meetings, convene elections, and preserve order. In the 
 useful arts, so far as their productions and circumstances 
 will allow, and in moral and religious improvement, Iceland 
 has kept pace with the world. Printing was introduced in 
 the year 1530 ; and the Reformation, which had been going 
 on in Europe for some time, extended to Iceland in 1551. 
 The Roman Catholic Church at this time, the established 
 religion of the country, had become so corrupt, that the 
 last Catholic bishop and his two illegitimate sons were be- 
 headed for murder and other crimes. Since then to the 
 present day, the religion of the country has been Lutheran, 
 and there is said to be not one person residing in Iceland 
 except Protestants. Such is a slight sketch of the set- 
 tlement and progress of this isolated country. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Happy the nations of the moral North, 
 Where all is virtue. * * * 
 Honest men from Iceland to Barbadoes. 
 ****** Man 
 In islands is, it seems, downright and thorough, 
 More than on continents. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 The geographical features of Iceland, and the manners 
 and customs of the people, are no less interesting than the 
 history of the nation. Iceland lies just south of the polar 
 circle, between sixty-three and a half and sixty-six and a half 
 north latitude, and between thirteen and twenty-four de- 
 grees west longitude from Greenwich. Its length from east 
 to west, is about two hundred and eighty miles, and 
 its average width one hundred and fifty. In extent of sur- 
 face it is nearly as large as the State of New-York, contain- 
 ing not far from forty thousand square miles. It is three 
 hundred miles east of the coast of Greenland, a little over 
 five hundred from the north of Scotland, nearly one thou- 
 sand from Liverpool, thirteen hundred from Copenhagen, 
 and about three thousand miles from Boston. The coast 
 is deeply indented with bays, its valleys are drained by large 
 rivers, and every part abounds more or less with lofty moun- 
 tains. Though volcanic regions have many features in 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 49 
 
 common, Iceland differs greatly from every country in the 
 known world. It presents a greater array of remarkable natu- 
 ral phenomena than can be found throughout the whole ex- 
 tent of Europe and America. To the naturalist and the man 
 of science, to the geologist, the botanist, and the ornithologist, 
 it is probably less known than any equal tract of accessible 
 country in the world. The burning chimnies of iEtna, Ve- 
 suvius, and Stromboli, have given inspiration to Horace and 
 Virgil, and been minutely described by the pens of Strabo, 
 Dioclorus Siculus, and Pliny. Not so the region of Hekla 
 and Skaptar Jokull. In the Mediterranean states, art and 
 nature can both be studied ; in Iceland, nature alone, but 
 nature in her wildest moods. But how will those moun- 
 tains in the south compare with these in the north ? All 
 
 4 
 
 the volcanoes in the Mediterranean would scarcely extend 
 over more ground than a single county in the State of New 
 York, while Iceland is one entire volcanic creation as large 
 as the State itself. Though not active all "at once, yet 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land may be 
 found smoking mountains, burning sulphur mines, hot 
 springs that will boil an egg^ and jets of blowing steam 
 that keep up a roar like the whistle of a gigantic steam en- 
 gine. The volcanic region of Iceland may be set down as 
 covering an area of sixty thousand square miles ; for volca- 
 noes have repeatedly risen up from the sea near the coast, 
 and sometimes as far as seventy miles from land. Though 
 ^Etna is higher than any mountain in Iceland, and of such 
 enormous bulk that it is computed to be 180 miles in cir- 
 cumference ; yet if Skaptar Jokull were hollowed out, 
 3* 
 
50 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 iEtna and Vesuvius both could be put into the cavity and 
 not fill it ! 
 
 Iceland, too, is classic ground. Not, however, in the 
 same sense that Italy, Sicily, and Greece, are. The hun- 
 dred different kinds of verse now existing in many volumes 
 of Iceland poetry, the sagas, and other literary productions 
 of the Icelanders, have not been read and re-read, translated 
 and re-translated, like the works of Herodotus, Xenophon, 
 Tacitus, and Cicero, and for very good reasons. The coun- 
 try is not one of such antiquity ; it is not a country re- 
 nowned for arts and arms, and overflowing with a numerous 
 population. As a state, it is nearly destitute of works of 
 art, and its scanty population can only procure the bare 
 necessaries of life. Scarcely a page of Icelandic literature 
 ever put on an English dress and found its way among tne 
 Anglo-Saxons, until the pen that gave, us "Waverley and 
 Rob Roy, furnished us with a translation of some of the 
 more important of the Iceland sagas. The author of the 
 " Psalm of Life " and " Hyperion " has given us some ele- 
 gant translations of Iceland poetry. 
 
 On stepping ashore in Iceland, the total absence of trees 
 and forests, and the astonishing purity of the atmosphere, 
 strike the spectator as among the more remarkable charac- 
 teristics of the country. The fields are beautifully green : 
 the mountains, clothed in purple heath, appear so near that 
 you are almost tempted to reach forth your hands to touch 
 their sides. At fifteen or twenty miles distance, they ap- 
 pear but three or four ; and at seventy or eighty miles, they 
 seem within ten or fifteen. Such is the effect of the magical 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 51 
 
 purity of the atmosphere. In other countries you go and 
 visit cities and ruins ; here you see nature in her most fan- 
 tastic forms. In other states you pay a shilling, a franc, or 
 a piastre, for a warm bath in a vat of marble ; here you 
 bathe in a spring of any desired temperature, or plunge into 
 a cool lake, and swim to the region of a hot spring in the 
 bottom, guided by the steam on the surface. In other 
 lands you step into marble palaces that are lined with gold 
 and precious stones, and find hereditary legislators making 
 laws to keep the people in subjection ; here you see a grass- 
 grown amphitheater where an elective congress met and 
 legislated in the open air for nearly a thousand years. In 
 other and more favored climes, you find comfortable houses, 
 and " fruits of fragrance blush on every tree ;" here, not a 
 fruit, save one small and tasteless berry, and not a single va- 
 riety of grain, will ripen, and their houses are mere huts of 
 lava and turf, looking as green as the meadows and pastures. 
 In other lands, coal and wood fires enliven every hearth, 
 and mines of iron, lead, copper, silver, and gold, reward the 
 labor of the delver ; but here, not a particle of coal, not one 
 single mineral of value, and not one stick of wood larger 
 than a walking-cane can be found. Many of the mountains 
 are clad in eternal snows, and some pour out rivers of fire 
 several times every century. But, though sterile the soil 
 and scanty the productions, our knowledge of the country 
 must be limited if we consider it barren of historical facts and 
 literary reminiscences. A country like this, nearly as large 
 as England, must possess few agricultural and commercial re- 
 sources, to have at this time, nearly one thousand years after 
 
52 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 its first settlement, a population of only sixty thousand souls. 
 Yet the Icelanders, while laboring under great disadvan- 
 tages, are more contented, moral, and religious, possess 
 greater attachment to country, are less given to crime and 
 altercation, and show greater hospitality and kindness to 
 strangers, than any other people the sun shines upon. Their 
 contentment and immunity from crime and offense, do not 
 arise from sluggishness and indolence of character ; nor are 
 they noted alone for their negative virtues. They possess a 
 greater spirit of historical research and literary inquiry, 
 have more scholars, poets, and learned men, than can be 
 found among an equal population on the face of the globe. 
 Some of their linguists speak and write a greater number of 
 languages than those that I have ever met in any other 
 country. Iceland has given birth to a Thorwaldsen, a sculp- 
 tor whose name will descend to the latest posterity. His 
 parents were Icelanders, but he was a child of the sea, born 
 on the ocean, between Iceland and Denmark. Among their 
 poets and historians will be found the names of Snorro Stur- 
 leson, Ssemund, sumamed Frode, or " the learned," Jon 
 Thorlaksen, Finn Magnusen, Stephensen, Egilson, Hallgrim- 
 son, Thorarensen, Grondal, Sigurder Peterssen ; and these, 
 with many others, will adorn the pages of Icelandic litera- 
 ture as long as the snow covers their mountains, and the 
 heather blooms in their valleys. Their navigators and mer- 
 chants discovered and settled America long before Genoa 
 gave birth to a Columbus, and while Europe was yet im- 
 mured in the darkness of the middle ages. The works of 
 their poets and literary men have been translated into nearly 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 53 
 
 every language in Europe ; and they in their turn have trans- 
 lated into their own beautiful language more or less of the 
 writings of Milton, Dryden, Pope, Young, Byron, Burns, 
 Klopstock, Martin Luther, Lamartine, Benjamin Franklin, 
 Washington Irving, and many others. In the interior of 
 the country a native clergyman presented me a volume — 
 an Iceland annual, the " Northurfari," for 1848-9 — that 
 contains, among many original articles, the " Story of the 
 Whistle," by Dr. Franklin ; a chapter from Irving's " Life of 
 Columbus ;" translations from Dryden ; Byron's " Ode on 
 Waterloo ;" Burns' " Bruce's Address ;" Kossuth's Prayer on 
 the defeat of his army in Hungary ; part of one of Presi- 
 dent Taylor's Messages to Congress ; and extracts from the 
 New York Herald, the London Times, and other publica- 
 tions. With scarcely a hd{?e of fame, the intellectual labors 
 of the Icelanders have been prosecuted from an ardent thirst 
 of literary pursuits. Personal emolument, or the applause 
 of the world, could scarcely have had a place among their 
 incentives to exertion. As an example we need only notice 
 the labors of Jon Thorlakson. This literary neophyte, im- 
 mured in a mud hut in the north of Iceland, subsisting on 
 his scanty salary as a clergyman, which amounted to less 
 than thirty dollars a year, together with his own labors as a 
 farmer, yet found time during the long evenings of an Ice- 
 land winter, to translate into Icelandic verse, the whole 
 of Milton's "Paradise Lost," Pope's "Essay on Man," and 
 Klopstock's " Messiah," besides writing several volumes of 
 original poetry. Throughout their literary and political 
 writings can be seen that spirit of republicanism, and that 
 
54 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 ardent love of political liberty, which always characterizes 
 a thinking and intellectual people. Interspersed with their 
 own sentiments expressed in their own tongue, will be seen 
 quotations from other writers, and in other languages. 
 With Dryden they say, 
 
 "The love of liberty with life is given, 
 And life itself the inferior gift of heaven." 
 
 From Byron they quote, 
 
 " Better to sink beneath the shock, 
 Than moulder piecemeal on the rock." 
 
 And with the noble poet, again, they express their 
 
 " plain, sworn, downright detestation 
 
 Of every despotism in ey>ry nation." 
 
 Such is the literary and republican spirit of this toiling and 
 intellectual people. 
 
 The Icelanders live principally by farming and fishing. 
 They take cod and haddock, from five to forty miles out to 
 sea. Whales often visit their harbors and bays, and are 
 surrounded by boats and captured. Their season for sea- 
 fishing is from the first of February to the middle of May. 
 In the summer they catch large quantities of trout and sal- 
 mon in their streams and lakes. They have no agricultural 
 productions of much value, except grass. Grain is not cul- 
 tivated, and their gardens are very small, only producing a 
 few roots and vegetables. The climate of the country is 
 not what we would suppose from its location. Columbus, 
 who was there in February, tells us he found no ice on the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 55 
 
 sea. It is not as cold in winter as in the northern States of 
 America, the thermometer seldom showing a greater degree 
 of severity than from twelve to eighteen above zero. In 
 summer, from June to September, it is delightfully mild and 
 pleasant, neither cold nor hot. The cold season does not 
 usually commence until November or December ; and some- 
 times during the entire winter there is but little snow, and 
 not frost enough to bridge their lakes and streams with ice. 
 In summer, fires are not needed, and the climate during 
 this season is more agreeable than that of Great Britain or 
 the United States, having neither the chilly dampness of 
 the one, nor the fierce heat of the other. Thunder-storms 
 in Iceland occur in the winter, but not in the summer. 
 
 Their domestic animals are sheep, cattle, horses, and 
 dogs. They rarely keep domestic fowls, but from the nests 
 of the wild eider-duck'they obtain large quantities of eggs, 
 as well as down. Reindeer run wild in the interior, but are 
 not domesticated. Blue and white foxes are common ; and 
 these, with eagles, hawks, and ravens, destroy many of their 
 sheep and lambs. White bears are not found in the country, 
 except as an "imported" article, when they float over from 
 Greenland on the drift ice. The domestic animals in Ice- 
 land are estimated in the following numbers : — 500,000 
 sheep, 60,000 horses, and 40,000 cattle. All their animals 
 are of rather small size, as compared to those in more tem- 
 perate regions. Their horses are a size larger than the po- 
 nies of Shetland, and average from twelve to thirteen hands 
 high. Their hay is a short growth, but a very sweet, excel- 
 lent quality. The Icelanders speak of their " forests," — mere 
 
56 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 bunches of shrubbery from two to six feet high. These are 
 principally birch and willow. The beautiful heath, so com- 
 mon in Scotland and the north of Europe, is found through- 
 out Iceland. Their game birds are the ptarmigan, the 
 curlew, the plover, and the tern. Nearly every variety of wa- 
 ter-fowl common to Great Britain or America, abounds in the 
 bays, islands, and shores of Iceland, and in the greatest num- 
 bers. The Icelanders export wool, about 1,000,000 lbs. an- 
 nually, and from two to three hundred thousand pairs each of 
 woolen stockings and mittens. Besides these articles, they 
 sell dried and salted codfish, smoked salmon, fish and seal 
 oil, whale blubber, seal and fox skins, feathers, eider-down, 
 beef and mutton, hides, tallow, and sulphur. They import 
 their principal luxuries — flour, rye and barley meal, beans, 
 potatoes, wine, brandy, rum, ale and beer, tobacco, coffee, 
 sugar, tea, salt, timber, coal, iron, cutlery, fish-hooks and 
 lines, cotton and silk goods, leather, crockery, and furniture. 
 From thirty to forty vessels sail from Denmark to Iceland 
 every year. Reykjavik, the capital, on the west coast, is the 
 largest town in the island — a place of about 1,200 people. 
 Then there are Eskifiorth and Vopnafiorth in the east, 
 Akreyri in the north, and Stykkisholm and Hafharfiorth 
 in the west, all places of considerable trade. All goods are 
 taken to Iceland duty free ; and letters and papers are car- 
 ried there in government vessels, free of postage, and sent 
 through the island by government messengers. By the 
 present arrangement, the government "post-ship" makes 
 five voyages to and from Iceland in a year. It sails from 
 Copenhagen to Reykjavik on the first days of March, May, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 57 
 
 July, and October, and from Liverpool to Reykjavik on the 
 first day of January. It leaves Reykjavik, for Copenhagen, 
 February 1st, April 1st, June 1st, and August 10th ; and 
 from Reykjavik for Liverpool on the 10th of November. 
 One half of the trips each way, it stops at the Faroe Isles. 
 In addition to the mail service by this ship, letter-bags are 
 forwarded from Denmark by the different vessels trading 
 to Iceland. 
 
 All travel and transportation of goods and the mail 
 through the interior of Iceland is on horseback. There's 
 not a carriage-road, a wheeled vehicle, a steam-engine, a 
 post-office, a custom-house, a police officer, a fort, a soldier, 
 or a lawyer in the whole country. Goods, dried fish, and 
 valuables are left out of doors, unguarded, with impunity, 
 stealing being almost unknown. There never was but one 
 prison in the island, and that was used also as an almshouse. 
 Even then it was nearly useless, and most always without a 
 tenant ; and finally, to put it to some use, it was converted 
 into a residence for the Governor, and is now the " White 
 House " in the capital of Iceland. Taxes are very light, 
 and do not amount to as much as the expense of carrying 
 on the government, paying the officers, and transporting the 
 mail. The Icelanders are universally educated to that ex- 
 tent that all can read and write. There is but one school 
 or institution of learning in the country — the college at 
 Reykjavik. This has a president and eight professors, and 
 usually from eighty to a hundred students. The boys edu- 
 cated here are nearly all trained for clergymen, or else to 
 fill some of the civil offices in the island, or they expect to 
 
58 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 go abroad, or live in Denmark. This institution is endowed 
 by the Danish government, and was formerly at Bessas- 
 stath, a few miles south of Reykjavik, whence it was removed 
 a few years since. The president is Bjarni Johnson, Esq., 
 a native Icelander, a gentleman of rare accomplishments 
 and learning, and one of the first linguists in Europe. The 
 Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Danish, French and English lan- 
 guages are taught here, as well as most of the sciences. It 
 was during college vacation when I was in the country, and 
 I used to meet in the interior, at their fathers' houses, young 
 men who were students of the college, and who could con- 
 verse fluently in Latin, Danish, French, or English. The 
 Bible or Testament, and usually many other books, particu- 
 larly historical and poetical works, are found in nearly every 
 house in Iceland. The population being scanty, with the 
 great majority of the people it is impracticable to have 
 schools, so that education is confined to the family circle. 
 During their long winter evenings, while both males and 
 females are engaged in domestic labors, spinning, weaving, 
 or knitting — by turns one will take a book, some history, 
 biography, or the Bible, and read aloud. The length of 
 their winter nights can be appreciated when we consider 
 that the sun in December is above the horizon but three or 
 four hours. Before and after Christmas he rises, sleepily, 
 at about ten o'clock, and retires between one and two in the 
 afternoon. This is quite different from the earlier habits 
 and longer visits of that very respectable luminary in more 
 temperate and tropical climes. True, he makes atonement 
 in the summer, when he keeps his eye open and surveys the 
 

 KAMBLES IN ICELAND. 59 
 
 land daily from twenty to twenty-one hours. Then he rises 
 between one and two o'clock in the morning, looks abroad 
 over a sleeping world, and only retires behind the moun- 
 tains at near eleven o'clock at night. 
 
 While traveling in the country, I used frequently to ask 
 the children in poor families to read to me in Icelandic, and 
 I never saw one above the age of nine years that could not 
 read in a masterly style. Their writing, too, is almost in- 
 variably of great elegance. This is partly owing to their 
 practice of multiplying copies in manuscript, of almost all 
 the historical and poetical works written in the country, 
 copying them in advance of their publication, and often af- 
 terwards. The manners and customs of the people have 
 changed with the progress of time and the change in their 
 form of government. In old times we are told, that when 
 the Icelanders or Norwegians were about setting out on any 
 expedition of importance they used to have a grand feast- 
 At these banquets, horse-flesh was one of their luxuries. 
 Bards and minstrels would recite poems composed for the 
 occasion ; and story, song, and hilarity, added zest to the en- 
 tertainment. After eating, drinking, and singing, to a 
 pretty high degree of elevation, they would close the pro- 
 ceedings by throwing the bones at one another across the 
 tables ! We are not informed, however, that the modern 
 Icelanders indulge in these luxuries. Their trade is gone, 
 and they are now a simple, pastoral people. In complexion 
 the Icelanders resemble the Anglo-Saxon race, often having 
 florid and handsome countenances. They ate fine figures, 
 frequently tall, several that I have seen being over six feet 
 
60 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 in height. Light hair most usually prevails, but I have 
 seen some that was quite dark. In a large district in the 
 northwest of Iceland, all the men wear their beards, a prac- 
 tice that has been in vogue for hundreds of years. They 
 always seem pleased when a stranger appears among them 
 who has adopted a fashion so much in accordance with their 
 own philosophy, with nature, and the laws of health, and at 
 the same time that adds so much to the personal appear- 
 ance of the lords of creation. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Ask where's the North : at York 'tis on the Tweed, 
 
 In Scotland at the Orcades ; and there 
 
 At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where. 
 
 Essay on Man. 
 
 Hvar er norSur ytst ? 
 
 Sagt er i Jork, |>a5 se vi$ Tveit ; 
 Segir Skottinn : vifc Orkneyjar ; 
 En f>ar : vi$ Greenland, Zemblu, sveit 
 Sett meinar J>aS — og gn$ veit hvar. 
 
 Popes Essay; Icelandic version. 
 
 We landed at Reykjavik at six o'clock in the morning. 
 Though the sun was near five hours high, scarce a person 
 was up. At this season the sun evidently rises too early for 
 them. Sleep must be had, though, whether darkness comes 
 or not. Reykjavik with its 1,200 people, for a capital city, 
 does not make an extensive show. The main street runs 
 parallel with the low gravelly beach, with but few houses 
 on the side next the water. In one respect this is a singu- 
 lar-looking place. Nearly all the houses are black. They 
 are principally wooden buildings, one story high, and cov^- 
 ered with a coat of tar instead of paint. Sometimes they 
 use tar mixed with clay. The tar at first is dark red, but in 
 a little time it becomes black. They lay it on ihick, and it 
 preserves the wood wonderfully. I walked through the 
 
62 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 lonely streets, and was struck with the appearance of taste 
 and comfort in the modest-looking dwellings. Lace cur- 
 tains, and frequently crimson ones in addition, and pots of 
 flowers — geraniums, roses, fuchsias, &c. — were in nearly 
 every window. The white painted sash contrasted strongly 
 with the dark, tar-colored wood. After hearing a good deal 
 of the poverty of the Icelanders, and their few resources, I 
 am surprised to find the place look so comfortable and 
 pleasant. The merchant usually has his store and house 
 under one roof. The cathedral is a neat, substantial church 
 edifice, built of brick, and surmounted by a steeple. This, 
 with the college, three stories high, the hotel, a two- 
 story building with a square roof running up to a peak, and 
 the governor's house, a long, low, white-washed edifice built 
 of lava, are the largest buildings in Reykjavik. Directly 
 back of the town is a small fresh-water lake, about a mile 
 in length. What surprises me most is the luxuriance of 
 the vegetation. Potatoes several feet high, and in blossom, 
 and fine-looking turnips, and beds of lettuce, appear in most 
 all the gardens. In the governor's garden I see a very 
 flourishing-looking treej trained against the south side of a 
 wall. This is not quite large enough for a main-mast to a 
 man-of-war, but still it might make a tolerable cane, that 
 is, provided it was straight. It is about five feet high, and 
 is, perhaps, the largest tree in Iceland. Certainly it is the 
 largest I have yet seen. The temperature, now, in mid- 
 summer, is completely delicious. The people I am highly 
 pleased with, so far as I have seen them. There is an asrree- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 63 
 
 able frankness about them, and a hearty hospitality, not to 
 be mistaken. 
 
 I have just had a ride of six or seven miles into the 
 country, to Hafnarfiorth. Professor Johnson, the Presi- 
 dent of the College, accompanied me. We rode the small 
 pony horses of the country, and they took us over the 
 ground at a rapid rate. The country is rough, and a great 
 part of it hereabouts covered with rocks of lava. We 
 passed one farm and farm-house where the meadows were 
 beautifully green, strongly contrasting with the black, deso- 
 late appearance of the lava-covered hills. One tract was all 
 rocks, without a particle of earth or vegetation in sight. 
 The lava had once flowed over the ground, then it cooled 
 and broke up into large masses, often leaving deep seams 
 or cracks, some of them so wide that it took a pretty smart 
 leap of the pony to plant himself safe on the other side. At 
 one place where the seam in the lava was some twenty feet 
 across, there was an arch of rock forming a complete natu- 
 ral bridge over the chasm. The road led directly across 
 this. We passed near Bessasstath, for many years the seat 
 of the Iceland college. Near this, Prof. Johnson showed 
 me his birth-place. The house where he was born was a 
 hut of lava, covered with turf, and probably about as splen- 
 did a mansion as those where Jackson and Clay first saw the 
 light. Suddenly, almost directly under us, as we were 
 among the lava rocks, the village of Hafnarfiorth appeared. 
 This is a little sea-port town of some twenty or thirty 
 houses, extending in a single street nearly round the harbor. 
 We called on a Mr. Johnson, a namesake of my companion, 
 
64 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and were very hospitably entertained. The table was soon 
 covered with luxuries, and after partaking of some of the 
 good things, and an hour's conversation, we had our horses 
 brought to the door. Our host was a Dane, a resident mer- 
 chant of the place, and he had a very pretty and intelligent 
 wife. They gave me a pressing invitation to call on them 
 again, the which I promised to do — whenever I should go 
 that way again ! I returned the compliment, and I believe 
 with sincerity on my part. ' That is, I told them I should 
 be very happy to have them call at my house when they 
 could make it convenient. Now, some of the uncharitable 
 may be disposed to say that all this ceremony on my part 
 was quite useless. True, I lived thousands of miles from 
 the residence of my entertainers, that is, if I may be said 
 to " live " anywhere ; and, being a bachelor, I had no house 
 of my own, nor never had ; but if I had a house, and Mr. 
 and Mrs. Johnson would call on me, I should be very glad 
 to see them ! 
 
 I should mention that Prof. Johnson speaks English 
 fluently ; mine host, not a word ; neither could I speak 
 much Danish ; but with the learned professor between us, 
 as interpreter, we got along very well. A violent rain had 
 fallen, while we were coming ; but it cleared up, and we 
 had a pleasant ride back to Reykjavik, arriving about 
 eleven o'clock, a little after sunset. 
 
 After a few days at the capital, I prepared for a journey 
 to the interior. A traveler can take " the first train" for 
 the Geysers, if he chooses ; but that train will hardly go 
 forty miles an hour. It is only seventy miles ; but if he 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 65 
 
 gets over that ground in two days, he will do well. There's 
 plenty of steam and hot water here, and " high pressure " 
 enough ; but you may look a long while for locomotives ; 
 or — if I may perpetrate a bad pun — any motives but local 
 ones, in the whole country. Roads — except mere bridle 
 paths — or vehicles of any kind, as I have mentioned, are 
 unknown in Iceland. All travel is on horseback. Immense 
 numbers of horses are raised in the country, and they are 
 exceedingly cheap. As for traveling on foot, even short 
 journeys, no one ever thinks of it. The roads are so bad 
 for walking and generally so good for riding, that shoe- 
 leather, to say nothing of fatigue, would cost nearly as 
 much as horseflesh. Their horses are certainly elegant, 
 hardy little animals. A stranger in traveling must always 
 have " a guide ;" and if he goes equipped for a journey, and 
 wishes to make good speed, he must have six or eight horses ; 
 one each for himself and the guide, and one or two for the 
 baggage ; and then as many relay horses. When one set 
 of horses are tired, the saddles are taken oft' and changed 
 to the others. The relay horses are tied together, and 
 either led or driven ; and this is the time they rest. A 
 tent is carried, unless a traveler chooses to take his chance 
 for lodgings. Such a thing as a hotel is not found in Ice- 
 land, out of the capital. He must take his provisions with 
 him, as he will be able to get little on his route except 
 milk ; sometimes a piece of beef, or a saddle of mutton or 
 venison, and some fresh-water fish. The luggage is carried 
 in packing trunks that are made for the purpose, and fas- 
 tened to a rude sort of frame that serves as a pack-saddle. 
 4 
 
66 EAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Under this, broad pieces of turf are placed to prevent gall- 
 ing the horse's back. I prepared for a journey of some 
 weeks in the interior, and ordered my stores accordingly. 
 I had packed up bread, cheese, a boiled ham, Bologna sau- 
 sages, some tea and sugar, a few bottles of wine, and some- 
 thing a little stronger ! I had company on my first day's 
 journey, going as far as Thingvalla. There was a regular 
 caravan ; about a dozen gentlemen, two guides, and some 
 twenty horses. My " suite" consisted of guide, four horses, 
 and a big dog, Nero^by name, but by the way a far more 
 respectable fellow, in his sphere, than was his namesake 
 the old emperor. Our cavalcade was not quite as large as 
 the one that annually makes a pilgrimage to Mecca, but a 
 pretty good one for Iceland. We had with us, Captain 
 Laborde, commander of the French war frigate now lying 
 in the harbor, and several of his officers ; Mr. Johnson, 
 president of the college, and some of the Reykjavik mer- 
 chants. Nationally speaking, we had a rather motley 
 assemblage, albeit they were all of one color. There were 
 French, Danes, and natives; and — towering above the 
 crowd (all but one confounded long Icelander) — mounted 
 on a milk-white charger eleven hands high, was one live 
 Yankee ! We were to rendezvous in the morning on the 
 public square, and be ready to start at seven o'clock. Not- 
 withstanding great complaints that travelers sometimes 
 make of the slowness of Iceland servants, we were ready 
 and off at half past seven. On we went, at a high speed, 
 for Thingvalla is a long day's journey from Reykjavik. 
 The Iceland ponies are up to most any weight. There was 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 6*7 
 
 one " whopper " of a fellow in onr company, mounted on a 
 snug-built little gray that seemed to make very light of 
 him. Indeed 'twas fun to see them go. The animal for 
 speed and strength was a rare one ; the rider, not quite a 
 Daniel Lambert : — 
 
 "But, for fat on the ribs, no Leicestershire bullock was rounder ; 
 He galloped, he walloped, and he flew like a sixty-four pounder." 
 
 No etiquette touching precedence on the road. You can 
 go ahead and run by them all, provided your pony is swift 
 enough, but if not, you can go behind. 
 
 To all appearance, an Iceland landscape does not come 
 up, in point of fertility, to the Genesee country or the Carse 
 of Gowrie. " Magnificent forests," " fields of waving grain," 
 and all that, may exist in western New York, in old Vir- 
 ginia, or in California ; but not in Iceland. We passed, 
 during the first five miles, one or two farms with their 
 green meadows ; then, mile after mile of lava and rock- 
 covered fields. Was the reader ever in the town of De 
 Kalb, St. Lawrence county, New York ? That fertile and 
 beautiful grazing country, where the sheep have their noses 
 filed off to a point, so that they can get them between the 
 rocks, to crop the grass ! That paradise of the birds, where 
 the crows carry a sack of corn with them while journeying 
 over the country, lest they starve on the way, and tumble 
 headlong on the plain ! That delightful region will give a 
 little, a very slight idea of some part of Iceland. By the 
 way, that old town in New York, methinks, is quite rightly 
 named. The name was given it in honor of that Polish 
 
68 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 nobleman who poured out his blood and yielded up his life 
 on the field of Camden, in the sacred cause of American 
 liberty. Brave Baron De Kalb ! Green waves the pine — 
 I once trod the turf — where thou did'st fall. We treasure 
 thy name and title, and endeavor to remember thy virtues, 
 by calling a town after thee — barren De Kalb ! 
 
 In speaking of rocks in Iceland, it will be borne in 
 mind that every mineral substance here is volcanic — lava, 
 pumice, trap, basalt, jasper, obsidian, &c. The whole 
 island is undoubtedly one entire volcanic creation, produced 
 by a submarine' eruption. In the whole country there has 
 never been seen a particle of granite, limestone, mineral 
 coal, iron or precious metal, or any of the primitive forma- 
 tion of rocks. The lava is most all of a dark color, usually 
 brown ; some of the very old is quite red, and the new very 
 black. It is scattered about, piled up in heaps, regular and 
 irregular, and of every imaginable shape and form. About 
 a mile and a half from Reykjavik is a large pleasant valley 
 of green grass. This is a common pasture for all the cows 
 and some of the horses that are owned in the town. A 
 few miles brought us to the valley of the Laxa or Salmon 
 river ; and here is a very good farm, the owner of it hiring 
 the salmon fishery, which is the property of the crown. 
 Several thousand salmon are taken here every year. The 
 mode of catching them is somewhat peculiar. The river 
 has two separate channels, and when the fishing season 
 arrives, by means of two dams, they shut all the current off 
 of one, and, as the water drains away, there they are, like 
 whales at ebb tide ; and all the fishermen have to do is to 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 69 
 
 go into the bed of the stream, and pick them up. Then 
 the water is turned from the other channel into the empty 
 one, and there the unlucky fish are again caught. The 
 period of the salmon fishing is one of interest to the whole 
 community. They are sold very cheap throughout the 
 country, and those not wanted for immediate consumption 
 are dried and smoked, and many of them exported. These 
 smoked salmon are often purchased here as low as a penny 
 sterling a pound, and taken to England and sold from six* 
 pence to a shilling. 
 
 In traveling over the country our " road " was seldom 
 visible for more than a few rods before us, and sometimes 
 it was rather difficult to trace. On stony ground the 
 ponies had to scramble along the best way they could. On 
 the grass lands there were paths, such as animals traveling 
 always make. Sometimes these were worn deep through 
 the turf ; and a long man on a short pony, when the paths 
 are crooked and the speed high, has to keep his feet going 
 pretty lively, or get his toe-nails knocked off ! I got one 
 fall, and rather an ignominious one. My pony threw me 
 full length on the grass, but I had not far to fall and soon 
 picked myself up again. On assessing the damage, I found 
 it consisted of one button off my coat, a little of the soil of 
 Iceland on both knees, and a trifle on my face. The pony 
 kicked up his heels and ran off; but one of the gentlemen 
 soon caught him, and on I mounted and rode off again. 
 About half way to Thingvalla, we stopped where there was 
 some grass for our horses, and had breakfast. Starting at 
 seven gave a good relish to a dejeuner at eleven o'clock, 
 
VO RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 An hour's rest, and we were again in the saddle. In the 
 morning it rained hard, but towards noon it cleared up, 
 and we had pleasant weather. 
 
 Our road led through one of the most desolate regions 
 I ever saw on the face of the earth. But, however rocky 
 and forbidding in appearance the country may be, there is 
 always one relief to an Iceland landscape. A fine back- 
 ground of mountains fills up the picture. Then, too, there 
 is a magical effect to the atmosphere here that I have never 
 seen anywhere else. The atmosphere is so pure, the strong 
 contrasts of black, brown, and red lavas, and the green 
 fields and snowy mountains, make splendid pictures of land- 
 scape and mountain scenery, even at twenty miles distance. 
 Captain Laborde said, in all the countries where he had 
 traveled, he never saw any thing at all like it, except in 
 Greece. As we approached lake Thingvalla, he said the 
 mountains opposite formed a perfect Grecian picture. I 
 have thought myself a pretty good judge of distances, and 
 have been very much accustomed to measure distances with 
 my eye, but here all my cunning fails me. At Reykjavik I 
 looked across the bay at the fine range of the Esjan moun- 
 tains, and thought I would like a ramble there. So I asked 
 a boatman to set me across, and wait till I went up the 
 mountain and had a view from the top. He looked a lit- 
 tle queer, and asked me how far I thought it was across the 
 bay. "Well," I replied, "a couple of miles, probably." 
 As the Kentuckian would say, I felt a little " chawed up" 
 when I was told that it was thirteen or fourteen English 
 miles, that the mountain was near 3,000 feet high, and I 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 71 
 
 should require a large boat, several men, a guide, and pro- 
 visions, and that it would be a long day's work to begin 
 early in the morning ! I left, I did. 
 
 There are few measured distances in inland travel here. 
 They go by time, and will tell you it is so many hours' ride, 
 or so many days' journey to such a place. We were seven 
 hours to-day in going from Reykjavik to Thingvalla, and I 
 think we averaged five miles an hour. It is probably thirty- 
 five or thirty-six miles. Much of the way the roads were 
 bad, and we walked our horses ; and when they were good 
 we put them through at the top of their speed. Our fat 
 friend with his pony, did not steeple-chase it much ; 
 
 " But, those who've seen him will confess it, he 
 Marched well for one of such obesity." 
 
 About ten miles from Thingvalla we came to a house, a sol- 
 itary caravansera in the desert. We concluded to patronize 
 it, and halted ; and while the ponies were contemplating the 
 beauties of the mineralogical specimens that covered the 
 ground, we took some refreshment. That is, those who in- 
 dulge in the use of the weed that adorns the vallies of the 
 land of Pocahontas, took a slight fumigation ; but having 
 some ham in my provision-chest, I did not wish to make 
 smoked meat of myself then. So I pulled from my poke — 
 look the other way, Father Mathew! — a "pocket-pistol," 
 and extracted a small charge ! It was not loaded with any 
 thing stronger than the products of the vineyards of France. 
 The " hotel" was one story high ; and, without trying to 
 make much of a story about it, it had but one room, walls 
 
Y2 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 of lava, and minus the roof. It is needless to say, the hotel- 
 keeper had stepped out. It had one piece of furniture, a 
 wooden bench, and on the slight timbers that supported 
 what had been a roof, were the names of sundry travelers. 
 I took out my pencil, and in my boldest chirography wrote 
 the illustrious name of — " John Smith !" 
 
 A few miles from our caravansera we came to the banks 
 of the lake of Thingvalla, or, in Icelandic, " Thingvalla 
 vatn." This lake is [about ten miles long, and the largest 
 body of water in Iceland. It is of great depth, in some 
 places over 1,000 feet deep. The town, or place, or what 
 had been a place, is at the north end of the lake. Just be- 
 fore arriving there, while jogging along on the level ground, 
 we came suddenly upon the brink of an immense chasm, 
 150 feet deep, and about the same in breadth. This was 
 one of those seams or rents in the earth, common in Ice- 
 land ; originally a crack in a bed of lava. Its precipitous 
 sides and immense depth seemed at once a bar to our pro- 
 gress ; and without a bridge over it, or ropes or wings, we 
 saw no way of getting along without going round it. With- 
 out seeing either end, and wondering how we were to get 
 round it, we were told we must go through it. And 
 * sure enough, and the animals, as well as the guides, seemed 
 to understand it ; and if we had kept in our saddles I actu- 
 ally believe they would have found their way down this 
 almost perpendicular precipice. We, however, dismounted, 
 and in a steep defile were shown a passage that much re- 
 sembled the " Devil's Staircase," at the Pass of Glencoe, in 
 the Highlands of Scotland. By picking and clambering 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. ^3 
 
 our way down some pretty regular stairs — and our horses 
 followed without our holding their bridles — we made our 
 way to the bottom. There we found grass growing ; and, 
 while our ponies were feeding, we lay on the turf and ad- 
 mired this singular freak of nature. We were in the bot- 
 tom of a deep chasm or defile, the wall on the west side 
 being over a hundred feet high and on a level with the 
 country back of it. The wall on the east side was lower, 
 and beyond this wall the country was on a level with the 
 bottom where we were. By walking a short distance to the 
 north, in this singular defile, we found the wall on the east 
 side broken down by a river that poured down the precipice 
 from the west, and being thus imprisoned between two walls, 
 it had thrown down the lowest one, and found its way into 
 the Thingvalla lake. This chasm is called the Almannagjd 
 (pronounced Al-man-a-gow), or " all men's cave." In for- 
 mer days, when the Althing, or Icelandic Congress, met at 
 the place, all men of consequence, or nearly all, used to as- 
 semble here ; and no doubt they admired this singular freak 
 of nature. The river here, the Oxera, in pouring over the 
 precipice forms a most splendid cataract. Here is Thing- 
 valla, a once important place, and, as I have mentioned, for 
 nearly a thousand years the capital of the nation. It is now 
 a mere farm, and contains two huts and a very small church. 
 This church is on about the same scale of most of the 
 churches in Iceland. It is a wooden building, about 
 eighteen feet long by twelve wide, with a door less than five 
 feet high. It is customary for the clergyman or farmer — 
 and the owner of the land is often both — to store his pro- 
 4* 
 
*74 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 visions, boxes of clothing, dried fish, &c, in the church ; and 
 strangers in the country often sleep in the churches. Some 
 travelers have made a great outcry about the desecration of 
 turning .a church into a hotel, but with all their squeamish- 
 ness have usually fallen into the general custom. Surely if 
 their tender consciences went against it, they had " all out 
 doors " for a lodging place. I have not yet arrived at the 
 honor of sleeping in a church, though I have slept out of 
 doors ; and when I have tried both, I will tell which I like 
 best. A tent has been presented to the important " town" of 
 Thingvalla, by the liberality of the French officers who 
 visit the coast ; and this was pitched for our use. The cler- 
 gyman here — who is also farmer and fisherman — a pale, 
 spare, intellectual-looking young man, received us very 
 kindly. It was the haying season, and the ground was cov- 
 ered with the new-mown hay. Two of the working-men of 
 the farm had that day been out on the lake, fishing in a 
 small boat. They came to the shore as we rode up, and I 
 had the curiosity to go and see what they had caught. 
 And what had they ? Who can guess ? No one. Over 
 two hundred and fifty fresh-water trout, all alive " and kick- 
 ing." They were large, handsome fellows, and would weigh 
 from one to three pounds each. Not a fish that wouldn't 
 weigh over a pound. But didn't I scream ? " Oh, Captain 
 Laborde ! Rector Johnson ! I say ; come and see the fish. 
 Speckled trout, more than two barrels-full." Well, hang 
 up my fish-hooks ; I'll never troll another line in Sandy 
 Creek. The tent pitched, some trout dressed, and a fire 
 built in the smithy, and we soon had a dinner cooking. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. ^5 
 
 And such a dinner ! Well, say French naval officers on 
 shore, Icelanders, Yankees, and Cosmopolites, can not enjoy 
 life " in the tented field " ! But this chapter is long enough, 
 and I'll tell about the dinner in my next. 
 
CHAP TEE Y. 
 
 __ — ■ — "he was a bachelor, * * * 
 * * * * and, though a lad, 
 Had seen the world, which is a curious sight, 
 And very much unlike what people write," 
 
 Had that celebrated Pope whose Christian name was 
 Alexander, believed that his immortal Essay would have 
 been translated into Icelandic verse by a native Icelander, 
 and read throughout the country, he would not have vaulted 
 clear over the volcanic isle in his enumeration of places at 
 *'. the North." And then, too, our poetical Pope is the only 
 pontiff who has any admirers in this northern land. The 
 last Catholic bishop of the country left few believers of 
 that faith in the island. 
 
 Yesterday, under the canvas of an Iceland tent, a party 
 was seated at dinner. It was on the bank of the Thing- 
 valla vatn. The hospitable clergyman furnished us trout, 
 and a good sportsman among the French officers produced 
 several fine birds, plovers and curlews that he had shot on 
 the way, often without leaving his horse. We had excel- 
 lent milk and cream from the farm, and the packing-cases 
 of the party furnished the balance of as good a dinner as 
 hungry travelers ever sat down to. The Frenchmen — like 
 those in the Peninsular war, who gathered vegetables to 
 

 Jt AMBLES IN ICELAND. V7 
 
 boil with their beef, rather than roast it alone as the English 
 soldiers did theirs — our Frenchmen — gathered some plants, 
 that looked to me very like dandelions, and dressed them 
 with oil and vinegar for salad. Though it was rather a fail- 
 ure, it showed that an eye was open to the productions of the 
 country, albeit it was not a perfect garden. I picked a bird 
 for my share of the work — picked him clean, too, and his 
 bones afterwards — and found it as good as a grouse or 
 pheasant. With fine Iceland brushwood from a " forest " 
 hard by, a fire was made in the blacksmith shop, and there 
 we roasted fish, flesh, and fowl. As the rest of the party 
 were to return the next day to Reykjavik, and as I had a 
 long tour before me, they would not allow me to produce 
 any thing towards the feast, but insisted on my dining with 
 them. I was too old a traveler to refuse a good invitation, 
 and accepted at once. The tent was pitched on a smooth 
 plat of grass before the lake, and a quantity of new- 
 mown hay, with our traveling blankets and saddles, made 
 first-rate seats. I know not when I have enjoyed a dinner 
 more than I did this. The Frenchmen conversed with their 
 own tongues in their own language ; some of the party 
 spoke Danish, and several Icelandic ; I gave them English 
 — and every other language that I knew — the modest Ice- 
 land clergyman expressed himself in Latin, and Rector 
 Johnson talked them all. Time flew by — as he always flies, 
 tne old bird ! — while the big white loaves, the trout, the 
 game-birds, the sardines, ham, and bottles of wine, disap- 
 peared rapidly. We drank, not deeply, to all the people 
 in the world — kings and rulers excepted, for they always 
 
*78 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 have enough to drink to their good health and long life ; 
 and we toasted, among others, " all travelers of every na- 
 tion, and in all climes," whether on land or sea," and hoped 
 that none were " seeing the elephant " more extensively 
 than we were. So passed our dinner. The clergyman was 
 with us ; and he appeared to enjoy the foreign luxuries, as we 
 all enjoyed everything about us, viands, company, scenery, &c. 
 Touching the fish that swim hereabouts, and the so- 
 called "sport" of angling, I am told that the Iceland trout 
 and salmon show a most barbarous indifference to the at- 
 tractive colors of all artificial flies that are ever thrown them 
 by scientific piscators. Our clerical farmer-fisherman who 
 hauls up the finny tribes in the Thingvalla vatn, uses no 
 barbed piece of steel to tear their innocent gills — " a pole 
 and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the 
 other" — but pulls them up in crowds with a net. He seems 
 to think as some others do of the barbarous old angler, 
 
 "Whatever Izaak Walton sings or says ; — 
 The quaint old cruel coxcomb, in his gullet 
 Should have a hook, and a small trout to pull it." 
 
 After dinner, the clergyman took us about to show us 
 the " lions " of the place. Thingvalla, in a historical point 
 of view, is by far the most celebrated and interesting 
 locality in Iceland. An account of their republican con- 
 gress or Althing, that met here, has been given in a former 
 chapter. The meeting of courts and legislative bodies, 
 among all the Scandinavian tribes, was in the open air. 
 The word Thingvalla is from thing, a court of justice, and 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. *79 
 
 valla, a plain. Undoubtedly from the same origin are the 
 names of Tingwall, in Shetland, and Dingwall, in the north 
 of Scotland. The cognomen "law" is given to several 
 hills in Scotland, and undoubtedly in consequence of courts 
 of law being held on them in former times. Such is the 
 tradition attached to them. 
 
 The place here where the Althing met was a most 
 singular and convenient one. Except from six to twelve 
 inches or more of soil on top, the earth here is solid rock 
 that was once lava. There are two wide and deep seams 
 or cracks in this lava-rock, that meet at an acute angle, 
 and stretch away in different directions into the plain. 
 Between these, in a small hollow, shaped like an amphi- 
 theater, is the place where the Althing met. These seams 
 or chasms are like natural canals, from twenty to fifty feet 
 wide, and said to be two hundred feet deep. They are 
 filled up to within twenty or thirty feet of the top, with 
 still, black-looking water, and are said to have a subter- 
 ranean communication with the lake about half a mile 
 distant. Here, on this triangular piece of ground, covered 
 with grassy turf, the general assembly of the nation 
 gathered once a year, in the summer season. Those con- 
 nected with the Althing were inside these natural chasms, 
 but spectators were outside, beyond the boundaries of the 
 court. This was, indeed, a primitive house of representa- 
 tives. Though the Icelanders are a staid, sober, matter-of- 
 fact people, undoubtedly many anecdotes and singular 
 legislative scenes could be related of events that have 
 transpired at this spot. One was told us by the clergyman, 
 
80 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 which, from its singular character, has been handed down, 
 though it took place long years ago. The Althing, having 
 both legislative and judicial powers, tried criminals and 
 adjusted differences, as well as made laws. A man was 
 undergoing his trial for a capital offense ; and, though in 
 irons, he watched his opportunity and ran, and with one 
 fearful leap vaulted clear across one of the chasms that 
 formed the boundary of the court. We were shown the 
 spot. It is twenty feet wide, and on the opposite side the 
 ground w r as several feet higher than the bank where he 
 started. The legend says he got clear off, and thus saved 
 his life ; going on the principle which the Indian adopted, 
 that if you hang a rogue you must catch him first. Near 
 this primitive capitol is a pool of deep, black-looking water, 
 where females convicted of capital crimes were drowned, 
 A little to the west, we were shown an island in the river, 
 where male culprits were beheaded. 
 
 Another" evidence of the civilization of the people 
 during a former age, was shown, quite as palpable as any 
 similar signs in either Old or New England. This was the 
 spot where witches were burned ; as late, too, as the com- 
 mencement of the eighteenth century. How singular are 
 some cotemporaneous events! As the unseen pestilence 
 sweeps through the atmosphere, from one nation to another, 
 so will a moral plague, like the delusion of witchcraft, 
 enchain the minds of a Christian community, and spread 
 death and devastation before it. There are scenes and 
 events in the history of all nations, that the people would 
 gladly blot out if they could. One of our party, a very 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 81 
 
 intelligent Icelander, told us he had seen, not forty years 
 before, heaps of charred bones, and ashes, on this spot, where 
 innocent people were sacrificed to a belief in witchcraft. 
 
 But these assemblies at Thingvalla were principally 
 identified with more pleasant scenes. There was something 
 besides the mere sitting of the supreme court, and the 
 gathering of the people's congress. Sir George Mackenzie 
 has happily expressed the interest' of these gatherings. 
 "At -the assemblies at Thingvalla," he says, "though 
 artificial splendor was wanting, yet the majesty of nature 
 presided, and gave a superior and more impressive solemnity 
 to" the scene. On the banks of the river Oxera, where its 
 rapid stream enters a lake embosomed among dark and 
 precipitous mountains, was held during more than eight 
 centuries the annual convention of the people. It is a spot 
 of singular wildness and desolation ; on every side of which 
 appear the most tremendous effects of ancient convulsion 
 and disorder, while nature now sleeps in a death-like 
 silence which she has formed. Here the legislators, the 
 magistrates, and the people, met together. Their little 
 group of tents, placed beside the stream, was sheltered 
 behind by a rugged precipice of lava; and on a small, 
 grassy spot in the midst of them was held the assembly 
 which provided, by its deliberations, for the- happiness and 
 tranquillity of the nation." 
 
 The people looked forward to these annual gatherings 
 with great interest. They met here in large numbers, and 
 from all parts of the country. Friend met friend, sociality 
 prevailed, commodities were interchanged, business was 
 
82 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 transacted, and all intermingled in agreeable, social inter- 
 course. Many families being here during the time, young 
 men found wives, and maidens obtained husbands ; so that 
 the bow of Cupid flung his arrows near the scales of justice. 
 Here, too, idolatry first gave way in Iceland, and here the 
 Christian religion was first publicly acknowledged. This 
 was in the year 1000. At that time, nearly all the people 
 were idolaters. Several zealous Christians were present, 
 and the subject was discussed at the Althing. The debate 
 waxed warm, and while the discussion was going on, a 
 messenger rushed into the assembly with the intelligence 
 that a volcanic eruption had broken out but a short 
 distance to the south. Tho idolaters declared it was 
 merely the wrath of their gods at the people for turning 
 away from their ancient creed. " But what," says Snorro 
 Goda, a Christian, " were the gods angry at, when the very 
 rocks where we stand, hundreds of years ago, were melted 
 lava ? " The question was unanswerable, the Christians 
 triumphed, and laws were immediately passed protecting 
 all in the exercise of their religion. The ecclesiastical 
 courts were afterwards held here, under the bishop of Skal- 
 holt. It is not to be wondered at, that the people wept 
 when the Althing was removed to Reykjavik. Hallowed 
 by the reminiscences of the past, they saw modern innovation 
 and foreign customs break up one of their ancient and 
 venerable institutions. The Althing is forever removed : 
 their council circle is now a meadow, and I see oxen, 
 sheep, and horses grazing around it. 
 
 Captain Laborde took me slily by the arm, led me one- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND, 83 
 
 side to a cleft in the lava, and waving his hand towards it, 
 said he begged to have the honor of introducing me to an 
 Iceland tree. And sure enough there it stood, green and 
 flourishing, but of such dimensions that, had I not been in 
 aware I was in Iceland, I should have been irreverent 
 enough to have called it a mere shrub, a bush, or perhaps 
 a bramble. I find I was very rash in pronouncing the 
 opinion which I did, that the bush, some five feet in height, 
 that I saw in the governor's garden was probably the 
 largest tree in Iceland. Now, here was one towering alone 
 in the majesty of luxuriant nature, at least six feet perpen- 
 dicular ; and were the various crooks and bends that adorn 
 its trunk, straightened out, I have no doubt but it would 
 be nine or ten inches higher. I took off my hat, and made 
 a low bow to it. In a meadow near the house, was a rather 
 novel sight — two girls milking the ewes. Here, as else- 
 where, we were furnished with excellent milk and cream. 
 Many a bowl of rich milk have I drank in this country, and 
 never asked where the article came from. After riding all 
 day, and at night going up to a farm-house, half exhausted 
 with hunger and thirst, and getting what would quench it, 
 I have found something else to think of besides letting my 
 fancy go wool-gathering among snowy fleeces, and bleating 
 lambs that go without their supper. When a man leaves 
 his own fireside and country, and goes abroad, he has no 
 business to take all of his prejudices and fastidiousness 
 along with him.* 
 
 * I have since learned that the milk used in Iceland is cows' 
 milk, and that the milk of the ewes is made into cheese. 
 
84 RAMBLES IN ICELAND, 
 
 With the new hay for a bed, our blankets spread 
 over us, and our saddles for pillows, we enjoyed a most 
 refreshing sfeep. At breakfast this morning, the clergy- 
 man-farmer's dairy and fishing-boat were again laid under 
 contribution. A large raven, one of a pair we had noticed 
 frequently, flew slowly up towards our tent, apparently 
 looking for something to break his fast. Our fowler 
 saluted him with a charge of fine shot, that sent him 
 off at a tangent, and left him minus some of his feathers. 
 A word touching these ravens hereafter. They are among 
 the most ancient of the inhabitants of Iceland. 
 
 It was with great regret that I parted from my most 
 agreeable and intelligent company — but separate we must. 
 The French officers, Rector Johnson, and the others, pre- 
 pared to return to Reykjavik, and I to go towards the east, 
 on a tour of several hundred miles in the interior. They 
 would gladly have continued with me as far as the Geysers, 
 but for some good and weighty reasons. One was, they 
 had no guide to return with them who understood the 
 road, and mine must go on with me. Another reason was, 
 we had all made such terrible havoc with their provision 
 chest, that the remainder would scarcely have stood before 
 a Captain Dugald Dalgetty for a day's campaign. Then, 
 too, fishing-ponds ten miles long and a thousand feet deep, 
 and yielding trout by the boat-load, are not to be found in 
 every valley, even in Iceland. So a hearty shaking of 
 hands, and a buckling of girths, and we were once more in 
 our saddles ; they returning to town, and I and my guide, 
 with faces towards the rising sun, going to see those 
 wonders of nature — the great Geysers of Iceland, 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 You know I pique myself upon orthography, 
 Statistics, tactics, politics, and geography." 
 
 We shall climb over the mountains and their hard 
 names, and gallop through the valleys a little more 
 smoothly, if we look at the spelling, pronunciation, and 
 meaning of some of the Icelandic terms. A great appro- 
 priateness will be seen in nearly all the geographical names 
 in Iceland. By translating the language, we shall see some 
 characteristic feature embodied in the name of about every 
 place, river, lake, mountain, bay, and island in the country. 
 The explanation of a few Icelandic words will show the 
 signification of many of the names that I shall have 
 occasion to mention. The letter a (pronounced ow) signi- 
 fies river, and is the last letter in the names of Icelandic 
 rivers. Bru is a bridge, hence bruara, or bridge river. 
 ttvit is white ; vatn, water or lake ; hviid, white river ; hvit- 
 arvatn, white lake. Hver is a hot spring ; laug (pronounced 
 tage), a warm spring, and dalr, a dale or vale. There is a 
 valley north of Hekla, known as Laugardatr, or vale of 
 warm springs. The Icelanders pronounce double I at the 
 end of words, like tl. They have a distinct name for each 
 description of mountain. JoTcull (pronounced yo-Jcut-l ; or, 
 spoken rapidly as the Icelanders speakj it sounds about like 
 
86 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 yo-hul) is the term used to designate mountains that are 
 covered with perpetual ice. Fell, fjall, and fjoll (pro- 
 nounced fee-et-l, fee-aht-l, and fee-ote-T), all signify moun- 
 tains, but fell is applied to single peaks, to small and 
 isolated mountains, and fjall and fjoll to large mountains, 
 or chains of mountains. JBla is blue ; snce, snow ; and we 
 have blafell, or a blue mountain standing alone — an 
 isolated peak in the middle of a plain. A celebrated 
 mountain in the west of Iceland, is Sncefell Johull (snef-el 
 yo-hul), a snowy mountain, standing alone, and covered with 
 perpetual ice ; and in the comprehensive language of the 
 Icelanders, it is all expressed in two words. Oroefa signifies 
 desert or sandy plain, and torf is turf or peat. There are 
 two mountains, Oroefa Johull and Torfa Johull ; one 
 standing in a desert, and the other in a large peat district. 
 One portion of the immense mountain, the Skaptar Jokull, 
 is known as Vatna Johull, as it is supposed to contain, on 
 a portion of its surface, large pools of standing water. The 
 points of compass are, north, suth, oest, and vest. Eyjar 
 signifies islands. South of Hekla is a lofty and celebrated 
 mountain known as the JEyjafjalla Johull. To an English 
 reader, unacquainted with the Icelandic, ^it is a crooked- 
 looking mouthful ; but on the tongue of an Icelander, 
 it flows off, a round, smooth, sonorous term. They call it 
 i-SL-fQ-aht-lsi yo-kull. It defines itself as ice mountain of 
 islands, having numerous knobs or peaks that stand up 
 like islands in the sea. Many Icelandic words are identical 
 with the English, and many others nearly so. It remains 
 for some future lexicographer to show the great number of 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 87 
 
 English words that are derived from the Icelandic. The 
 points of compass have been noticed ; a few more examples 
 will suffice. Hestr is a horse ; holt, a hill ; hus, a house ; 
 hval, a whale ; lang, long ; men, men ; mann, man ; sandr, 
 sand ; sitha, the side ; gerthi, a garden ; litil, little ; miJcla, 
 large (Scottish, muckle) ; myri, a bog or miry place ; 
 fjorth, is a firth or bay ; JcirJcja, a church ; prestur, a 
 priest; morgun, morning; ux, ox; daga, days. "July, 
 or midsummer month," stands literally in Icelandic, Julius 
 etha mithsumar-manuthur. J, at the beginning of words 
 and syllables in the Icelandic, is pronounced like y con- 
 sonant, and in the middle of a syllable, like i or long e, 
 
 Their affirmative yes, is fa (pronounced yow), and their 
 no is nei (nay). • Their counting is much like ours : einn 
 (1), tveir (2), thrir (3), fjorir (4), fimm (5), sex (6), sjo (7), 
 atta (8), niu (9), tiu (10), ellefu (11), tolf (12), threttan 
 (13), fjortan (14), fimmtan (15), sextan (16), seytjan (17), 
 atjan (18), nitjan (19), tuttugu (20), tuttugu og einn (21), 
 thrjatiu (30), fiorutiu (40), fimmtiu (50), sextiu (60), 
 sjotiu (70), attatiu (80), niutiu (90), hundrath (100), fimm 
 hundrath (500), thusund (1000). The date 1851, in words, 
 would be: einn thusund atta hundrath fimmtiu og einn. 
 This list might be extended to great length, showing the 
 similarity between the Icelandic and the English ; bu*t 
 these examples are sufficient for my purpose. 
 
 I have a few words for my friends the geographers, 
 who, in their anxiety to Anglicize geographical names, 
 so completely change them that the natives of a country 
 would not recognize their own rivers and mountains when 
 
88 RAMBLES IN ICELAND* 
 
 once disguised in an English dress. The Icelandic is the 
 only one of the old Scandinavian tongues that has the 
 sound of th ; and they have two different letters, one to 
 represent th in thank, and the other the th as heard in 
 this. The latter sound is heard in fiorth and in north* — 
 different from our pronunciation of north; and as the 
 letter representing this sound of th is a character that 
 some resembles the letter d, we find the above words 
 written and printed by the English as fiord and nord. 
 With the Danes and Swedes, who have neither the sounds 
 nor the letters, it is not to be wondered at that they use d 
 or t for these sounds. I shall give the Icelandic names in 
 their native spelling, as near as possible, with perhaps the 
 exception of the name of the country, — which they write 
 Island, b.ut now with us is thoroughly Anglicized as 
 Iceland. They pronounce it ees-land, the a in the last 
 syllable rather broad. I see no particular objection to 
 using y for j in jokull, as it has that sound ; or in substi- 
 tuting i for the same letter mfjorth, Reykjavik, J&yjafjalla, 
 and similar cases. I will, however, protest against an 
 Icelandic Thane being turned into a Dane, without as 
 much as saying, " By your leave, sir," or ever asking him 
 if he washed to change his allegiance. 
 
 If this chapter is dry and technical, it has at least the 
 merit of brevity. 
 
 * Icelandic ; fiorfc, nor$. 
 

 CHAPTER YII 
 
 " And yet but lately there was seen e'en here, 
 The winter in a lovely dress appear." 
 
 Phillips. 
 
 On a bright and beautiful morning, as my agreeable 
 company of the day previous disappeared behind the walls 
 of the Almannagja, my small party turned towards the east, 
 the bridle-path leading through a forest several miles in 
 extent. Before getting into the thickest of the wood, we 
 found the ground covered with immense rocks of lava, and 
 look which way we would, except a few feet of the path 
 directly before us, the country appeared quite impassable. 
 It may excite a smile to talk of a forest, with the largest 
 trees but six or seven feet high; but these patches of 
 shrubbery dispersed over Iceland, are of great value to the 
 people. They are composed principally of birch and 
 willow. Though nothing but scraggy brush, it is used 
 to make roofs to their houses, and much of it is burned 
 into charcoal for their blacksmithing. I have seen one of 
 their coalpits where they were burning charcoal, and a 
 bushel basket would have nearly covered it. Attached to 
 every farm-house is a " smithy," where scythes, pitchforks, 
 spades, horse-shoes, and other articles, are made. Every 
 man is a blacksmith ; and some travelers have asserted 
 5 
 
90 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 that the clergy are the best shoers of horses in the land. 
 A Gretna Green blacksmith will answer in case of emer- 
 gency for a clergyman ; and Sir George Mackenzie, while 
 traveling here, had his horse shod several times by Iceland 
 priests. I have not yet had an opportunity of testing the 
 skill of one of these clerical blacksmiths. They have, 
 at least, a poetical license for practising the two trades ; 
 though perhaps they do not put the shoe on the horse as 
 much as formerly, but 
 
 grown more holy, 
 
 Just like the very Reverend Rowley Powley, 
 Who shoes the glorious animal with stilts, — 
 A modern Ancient Pistol, by the hilts !" 
 
 We crossed one of those deep chasms or cracks in the 
 lava, so common in volcanic regions. Here a natural 
 bridge of lava was left, apparently on purpose for a road 
 across it. While riding along in this miniature forest, 
 a large flock or brood of ptarmigans flew up before us. 
 This, one of the fine game-birds of the mountainous parts 
 of Scotland, is very common in Iceland. From being long 
 out of the habit of shooting, I believe the murderous 
 propensities bred in my youth — with " dad's old musket " — 
 have pretty nearly all evaporated. And why should I 
 regret it? A more cheerful or happy sight than flocks 
 of beautiful birds, young and old, cannot be seen* Then 
 see the terrible contrast of " sulphurous smoke and dread- 
 ful slaughter," that follows the "fowler's murder-aiming 
 eye," and all for "sport." The ptarmigan, I believe, is 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 91 
 
 Seldom found in America. It is about the size of the 
 partridge of the State of New York, a greyish brown 
 in summer, and turning quite white in winter. The Ice- 
 landers call this bird the reaper. Had they game laws 
 here — and thank heaven they don't require them — it 
 would not be permitted to shoot this bird at this season. 
 The young in this flock, though able to fly short distances, 
 were not over half grown. I have a bit of a confession to 
 make, and I may as well make it now. The day that 
 I was traveling was Sunday! I met several parties of 
 Icelanders, traveling also ; the immediate object of our 
 journeying being different : they were going to church, 
 and I was going to see the Geysers. The parties I met 
 were going towards the Thingvalla church, and had on 
 their Sunday's best. They were all on horseback, the 
 universal way of traveling in this country. Indeed, indeed, 
 it was very queer, the riding of the young Icelandic ladies. 
 These pretty damsels rode just like their brothers. My 
 pen refuses a more elaborate and bifurcated description. 
 The matrons all had a very convenient kind of side-saddle. 
 It was like an arm-chair, the back and arms forming part 
 of a circle, all in one piece. The dame rides exactly 
 sideways, at a right angle with her horse, her feet placed 
 on a sort of wooden step. The saddle must be pretty 
 heavy, but the little animals and their riders seemed to get 
 along very well. There was nothing peculiar about the 
 costume of the females, except the little black caps with 
 long silk tassels, universally worn in Iceland, in doors and 
 out, in place of any other cap or bonnet. 
 
92 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 We journeyed towards the south, skirting the shore 
 of the lake some five miles, and then turned to the east, 
 climbing a sharp and steep mountain, but not of great 
 height. From the top we had a fine view of the sur- 
 rounding country, and to the west, the broad lake, the 
 "Thingvalla vatn." Across the lake, some ten miles 
 distant — though, from the magical purity of the atmos- 
 phere, it seemed but a stone's throw — was a range of 
 mountains, sloping down to the water's edge, with patches 
 of snow on their sides. Directly beneath us, at the foot of 
 the mountain, lay the lake with its myriads of trout, and 
 its water a thousand feet deep. Two abrupt islands rise 
 high above the surface. They are mere hills of lava and 
 volcanic matter, without a particle of vegetation. They 
 are called Sandey and Nesey. We traveled some little 
 distance on the broad, flat surface of the mountain, and 
 crossed — by descending into it — one of the deep lava 
 chasms. We did not descend, in going down the moun- 
 tain to the east, as much as wo had ascended ; but found 
 it spread itself out into a broad table-land, a number 
 of hundred feet higher than the lake. With long ranges 
 of mountains before us, we traveled several miles over a 
 most desolate volcanic region, completely covered with 
 lava rocks, scoria?, and volcanic sand. Like all the lava- 
 covered country, it was broken up in huge, irregular 
 masses, and very cavernous, in some places showing caves 
 thirty or forty feet deep. No description or picture will 
 give a good idea of the old lava on the surface of the 
 ground, to a person who has never been in a volcanic 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND, 93 
 
 country. Not the roughest lime-stone region I have ever 
 seen will bear the slightest comparison with the lava- 
 covered districts — near two-thirds of the surface — of Ice- 
 land. In written descriptions of volcanic regions, we often 
 see mention made of "streams of lava." These streams 
 in other countries are usually down the sides of mountains, 
 but here in Iceland they extend for miles along the surface 
 of the level ground, and we are puzzled to know where it 
 came from, for usually we see no crater or mountain any- 
 where near. I have seen these " streams " standing up in 
 bold relief, a black, rough, horrid mass, from ten to a 
 hundred feet deep, several hundred yards wide, and one or 
 two miles in length. Brydone, in his observations of Mt. 
 ./Etna, pulled all the old theologians about his ears by 
 making a calculation respecting the age of the lava, and 
 proving conclusively — to himself — that some of the lava 
 streams from JEtna were fourteen thousand years old. 
 I believe, however, that philosophers have to own them- 
 selves baffled in trying to get at the age of lava. After 
 cooling — which often takes some years — and breaking up 
 by the expansion of the air in it, the lava is usually nearly 
 or quite black. After several hundred years it turns a 
 little more towards a brown, or rather gets grey with age, 
 and is covered with a very slight coating of one of the most 
 inferior of the mosses. Very old lava often gets quite 
 rotten, light, and porous, and in this state is frequently 
 very red. Take a thick piece of zinc and break it with a 
 hammer, and you will have a rough surface that, multiplied 
 ten thousand times, will give some idea of a stream of lava. 
 
94 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 The word " horrible," both in the Icelandic and in English 
 descriptions, is often and most appropriately applied to the 
 fields of lava. 
 
 As we traveled east and approached nearer and nearer 
 the range of mountains, the way became much smoother 
 till we found ourselves on a plain of black, volcanic 
 sand. Near the base of the mountain range before us, 
 the guide took me aside a hundred yards or so to see a 
 curious volcanic crater called the Tin Tron. It stands near 
 twenty feet above the surface of the ground, like a chimney, 
 but on climbing up the side of it and looking down into it, 
 it appears like a well, but the cavity grows much wider 
 below the surface of the ground. On throwing in a stone, 
 after a little period, it quashed in a bed of water, seemingly 
 some fifty feet below where we stood. One side of it was 
 partly broken away, so we did not have to climb clear to 
 the top of it to look down the aperture. I broke off some 
 pieces of lava from the top of the crater with my hands, 
 and found it very soft, light, and porous. This lava was a 
 beautiful purple, and some of it a bright red color. I 
 brought away several samples. We wound round the 
 mountain and descended into a broad and fertile valley 
 called the " Laugardalr" or vale of warm springs. Broad 
 meadows surrounded us, and we could see the steam rising 
 from numerous hot springs in the distance. This valley 
 appeared like an immense amphitheatre surrounded by 
 mountains. I know not that a painter could make much of 
 it, but the Laugardalr is a fine landscape. It is not like a 
 vale in Derbyshire, or a country scene on the banks of the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND- 95 
 
 Connecticut. No forests, no grain fields, orchards, fences, 
 or houses, and yet it is a scene of great interest, and not 
 easily forgotten. 
 
 I had plenty of time, as we wound our way slowly 
 down the hillside from the elevated table land, and an 
 opportunity to observe the peculiarities of the country. 
 Certain little green hillocks to my now more practised eye 
 showed themselves to me as habitations. To the left lay a 
 smooth lake, and in bright lines through the green meadow 
 land were several white looking rivers. On every side 
 were high mountains, many of them covered on the tops 
 with snow. Here I got the first view of Hekla, though 
 more than forty miles distant. It was black nearly to the 
 top, where were some small snow banks. This valley, 
 including much that is beyond the Laugardalr, is one of 
 the most extensive and fertile farming districts in Iceland. 
 It extends nearly one hundred miles south to the Atlantic 
 ocean, and is bounded on the east and southeast by Mt. 
 Hekla and the Tindfjalla and Eyjafjalla Jokulls. This 
 tract of country is watered by Iceland's largest rivers ; the 
 Hvita or White river, the Briiara, the Tungufljot, the 
 Laxa, and the Thjorsa. 
 
 We stopped near the first farm-house, and had the 
 saddles taken off, that the ponies could recruit a little on 
 the fine meadow grass, while we went through that very 
 necessary daily ceremony of dining. The farmer sent me 
 out some excellent milk in a Staffordshire bowl, and soon 
 after he and his wife and daughter came out to see me 
 hide it under my jacket. Madame Pfeiffer, in her snarling, 
 
#q RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 ill-tempered journal, complains greatly of the idle curiosity 
 of trie people in crowding about and looking at her. From 
 what I heard of her, she was so haughty that the simple 
 and hospitable Icelanders could not approach her near 
 enough to show her any attentions. I exhausted my little 
 stock of Icelandic in talking with the farmer, praised his 
 farm, his cows, the milk, his country, his wife and daughter, 
 called the latter handsome— " fallegh, stulkey" — what a 
 lie ! — and giving him a piece of silver, which he seemed to 
 like better than all the "fair words" — "butter without 
 parsneps" — and, jumping into our saddles, away we went. 
 
 We passed near the small lake, the Laugarvatn, and 
 saw the steam rising from the hot springs near it, but 
 being out of our way we did not visit them. Several hot 
 springs have their source in the bottom of the lake, and 
 only reveal their existence by the steam that rises from the 
 surface of the water. We got into a fine road in a large 
 meadow or bottom land, and I was having a fine gallop 
 across the plain, when the guide called to me to turn aside. 
 I was greatly provoked on his taking me a mile out of 
 the way to show me a cave in the hill side, which he 
 semed to think was a great curiosity. This wonderful 
 cavern was about twenty feet deep ! I " blowed him up" 
 well for a stupid fellow, and told him he need not show a 
 cave like that to an American, for we had caves that 
 extended under ground farther than from there to the 
 Geysers — some ten miles ahead — and cared very little for 
 such a fox burrow as that. He said he showed it to 
 English gentlemen, and they thought it very grand ! Well, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 9T 
 
 I told him, he might show it to English gentlemen, but he 
 better not to Yankees, if he consulted his reputation as a 
 guide. Rising a hill we saw to our right another lake, the 
 Apavatn. We crossed the Bruara or Bridge river, the only 
 liver in Iceland — with one exception, the Jokulsa, in the 
 east country — that has a bridge over it. This bridge does 
 not span the river by any means, but it merely crosses a 
 chasm or deep place in the middle of the stream. Our 
 horses waded over the rocky bottom and shallow water 
 forty or fifty yards, when we came to a deep chasm, perhaps 
 ten yards across, and over this a slight wooden structure, 
 about six feet wide, was thrown. In this chasm the water 
 is a most furious torrent, roaring some fifty feet below the 
 bridge. Our horses were some frightened, and required 
 considerable urging to get them to cross the frail bridge. 
 The chasm commences but a little way up the river from the 
 bridge, and there the greatest share of the water in the 
 river pours into it, forming a furious and singular cataract. 
 I stopped my horse a few moments on the bridge, and looked 
 at the angry torrent as it rushed beneath me. The water, 
 except where broken into foam, has a deep green appearance. 
 On the road from Thingvalla to the Geysers, nearly all the 
 way, we had mountains on our left, and fine fertile meadows 
 on the right, towards the south. A great deal of the way, 
 a ridge of lava extends along the foot of the mountain, and 
 sometimes, for a long distance, I noticed a strip of fine 
 meadow land between the foot of the mountain and this 
 ridge of lava, the meadow as well as the strip of lava being 
 several hundred yards wide. How this came to be so I 
 5* 
 
98 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 could not tell, unless it happened that, after the last eruption 
 of lava, large quantities of ashes were thrown out of the 
 mountain, covering the lava for some distance from its base , 
 and thus forming a coat of soil where now the green 
 meadow is seen. As I have mentioned before, nearly every 
 foot of land in Iceland shows proofs of volcanic origin, and, 
 without doubt, the entire island was formed by volcanic 
 action. At whatever period that took place, if mortal man 
 could have seen it, there would have been a picture of the 
 power of the Almighty most awful to behold. What a scene ! 
 A tract of land forty thousand square miles in extent, 
 rising amidst fire and smoke and earthquakes, from the 
 bottom of the ocean. The proofs of subterranean fire 
 shown at the present day, in the occasional action of the 
 volcanoes, and constant spouting of numerous geysers and 
 hot springs of water and boiling mud, exhibit scenes of 
 sublimity and grandeur unequaled on the face of the 
 globe. 
 
 Crossing a high ridge of lava and winding around the 
 Bjarnarfell mountain, we came in sight of the Geysers, with 
 the clouds of steam rising up, at the base of a hill about 
 three miles from us. We crossed some small streams that 
 came from the Geysers, and observed that the waters were 
 covered with a gilded kind of metallic lustre, such as we often 
 see in stagnant pools. This arose, undoubtedly, from some 
 metallic property in the water itself. Shakspeare, whose eye 
 never missed an appearance of nature, usual or unusual, 
 observed this. In Antony and Cleopatra, a man had been 
 off on some expedition, and had no doubt " seen the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 99 
 
 elephant " somewhere on his route, for on his return one of 
 his comrades said to him, 
 
 "thou didst drink the gilded puddle 
 
 That beasts would cough at." 
 
 These waters are very good for immersion, if one wants an 
 outward application in the shape of a hot bath, but I think 
 for drinking I would imbibe the " gilded puddle " in War- 
 wickshire rather than suck the slimy waters that flow from 
 the Geysers. Eager to see these wonders of nature, I 
 spurred my pony up to the margin of the basin of the Great 
 Geyser, and, though in a quiescent state, I shall never forget 
 its appearance while memory holds her seat in my brain. 
 The guide soon led the way to the farmhouse and church 
 of Haukadalr, nearly a mile to the east, where we were to 
 pass the night. A drizzling rain had been falling; I was 
 wet, and greatly fatigued by the unusual exercise of riding 
 on horseback, and glad to get some rest, and defer my 
 examination of the place and its curiosities until the next 
 day. The farmhouse, with its furniture, was better than the 
 average in Iceland, and offered passable acommodations for 
 a weary traveler. After a cup of tea, taken from stores in 
 my own knapsack, I went to my room, crawled under the 
 bed, and soon fell asleep. 
 
CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 " It makes my blood boil like the springs of Hekla. '' 
 
 Byron. 
 
 Monday, July 26th, 1852, I spent at the Geysers. They 
 rise out of the ground near the base of a hill some three 
 hundred feet in height. Most of the hot springs I have 
 seen in Iceland are at the base of hills. The Geysers are on 
 ground that is nearly level, sloping a little from the hill, and 
 cover fifty acres or more. The springs are over one hun- 
 dred in number, and of every size and form, sonw very large, 
 others small, scarcely discharging any water at all. The 
 Great Geyser — " the Geyser" par excellence — attracts by far 
 the most attention, as from its great size, the quantity of wa- 
 ter it discharges, and the magnitude and splendor of its erup- 
 tions, it stands unequaled in the world. It is on a little 
 eminence that it has made for itself, a hollow rock or petri- 
 fied mass that has been formed by a siliceous deposit from 
 the water. On approaching the place, you readily see 
 where the Great Geyser is, by its large quantity of steam. 
 I walked up the margin of it, and there it was, perfectly 
 quiescent, like a sleeping infant. It is shaped exactly like a 
 tea-saucer, in appearance circular, though it is a little ellip- 
 tical. By measurement, the larger diameter is fifty-six feet, 
 and the smaller diameter forty-six feet. When I arrived I 
 
KAMBLEg IN ICELAND, 101 
 
 found this saucer or basin full of hot water, as clear as crys- 
 tal. The temperature, by Fahrenheit's thermometer, was 
 209° above zero, only three degrees below the boiling point. 
 The basin itself is four feet deep, and in the centre there is a 
 round hole or " pipe," as it is called, running down into the 
 earth like a well. At the top where it opens into the basin, 
 this pipe is sixteen feet across, but a little below the surface 
 it is said to be but ten feet in diameter. This pipe is round, 
 smooth, and straight, and is said by Sir George Mackenzie 
 and others who have measured it, to extend perpendicularly 
 to a depth of 65 feet. The rocky bottom and sides of the 
 basin and pipe are smooth and of a light color, nearly 
 white. The quantity of steam that escaped from the sur- 
 face was considerable, but not nearly so great as I should 
 suppose would come from such a body of hot water. Such 
 is the appearance of this most remarkable fountain while 
 still, and certainly it does not look like a violent or danger- 
 ous pool. Without wishing to augur ill of it, certainly it is 
 a great bore. "When in an active state, the Geyser is alto- 
 gether a different thing. "When I arrived in the evening, 
 the basin was not over half full of water, but the next morn- 
 ing it was full and running over, though the quantity of 
 water that flows from it is not very great. A slight rising 
 of the water, as if boiling, is seen in the middle of the basin 
 directly over the pipe when in a quiescent state. Now ar- 
 rived at the Geyser, we must wait its motion, for the erup- 
 tions occur at very irregular intervals, sometimes several 
 times a day, and sometimes but once in two or three days. 
 Knowing that it gave a warning — by firing signal-guns — 
 
102 JIAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 before each eruption, I took the time to go about the 
 grounds and see what there was to be seen. I gathered 
 some fine mineralogical specimens, some beautiful samples 
 of petrified peat, or turf, all roots and vegetable matter 
 turned to stone. Fifteen or twenty yards west of the Gey- 
 ser is a gully or ravine, with nearly perpendicular sides, and 
 thirty or forty feet deep. I went down into this, and found 
 a little rivulet of warm water, in it, the banks being com- 
 posed of volcanic matter and red earth. I heard a gurgling- 
 noise in the bank, and went up to it, and there was a little 
 mud spring of blubbering clay, hot and steaming. While 
 in this ravine, I heard a sudden noise of explosions like can- 
 non two or three miles away, and yet it seemed to be near 
 me, and under the Great Geyser. It was the subterranean 
 explosions that always precede an eruption. I ran up to 
 the Geyser, and saw the water in a violent state of agita- 
 tion and boiling, with considerable air coming up out of the 
 pipe to the surface. This was all ; only a false alarm, and 
 not an eruption. Off I went, on another exploring expedi- 
 tion about the grounds. I heard a violent gurgling up to- 
 wards the foot of the hill to the west, and went to see the 
 cause of it. About 150 yards frqm the Great Geyser I 
 found a jet of steam coming out of a hole in the ground, 
 and down out of sight I could hear mud boiling and sputter- 
 ing violently. I noticed here what I had heard was a charac- 
 teristic of the hot springs of Iceland, deposits of clay of 
 different colors and of great beauty. It was moist, in a state 
 somewhat like putty, and lying in layers, in several distinct 
 colors, Red, blue, and white were the prevailing tints, It 
 
11AMBLES IN ICELAND. 103 
 
 was most fine-grained and beautiful, and I could not help 
 thinking would be of considerable value as paints, if it 
 were collected. I gathered some of it, but in the absence 
 of proper things to carry it in, and the long journey before 
 me, I reluctantly left the samples behind. About 140 yards 
 southwest of the Great Geyser I came upon two deep 
 springs or pools of clear water, hissing hot and steaming. 
 These pools appeared two springs of irregular outline, each 
 from 10 to 15 feet across, and nearly or quite 30 feet deep. 
 The water was so clear I could see directly to the bottom. 
 A narrow, rocky boundary separated the two. This bound- 
 ary, or rather partition, as well as the sides of the spring, 
 was apparently a silicious deposit or petrifaction caused by 
 the water itself. On going up near the margin, and walk- 
 ing round on every side, I noticed that the earth or rock 
 overhung the springs on all sides, so I could see directly 
 under, and the crust near the margin was very thin, giving 
 it a most awful appearance. If one should approach too 
 near the margin, and it should break off, down he would go 
 to inevitable death in the seething cauldron. It is said, if a 
 man is born to be hanged he can never be drowned. Of 
 course a like immunity attends such a man if he is in danger 
 of being boiled ! I should rather meet the fate of Empedo- 
 cles, and save my boots ! A person might very easily run 
 splash into these springs, or rather this double spring, for it is 
 just even full of water, and on level ground. I did not see it 
 till I was just on the margin. Some late traveler here said 
 his guide repeatedly ran across the narrow rocky partition 
 that separated the two, Had he fallen in, whatever might 
 
104 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 be the temperature of the future world that he would be 
 destined to go to, he Would never require another hot bath 
 in this. The guide now showed me the Strokr, or what Sir 
 John Stanley calls the New Geyser. It is a mere hole in 
 the ground, like a well, without a basin or raised margin. 
 It is nine feet in diameter at the top, and gradually grows 
 smaller to about five feet in diameter. The Strokr — a word 
 signifying agitator — is a most singular spring. I looked 
 down into it, and saw the water boiling violently about 
 twenty feet below the surface of the ground. It is situated 
 131 yards south of the Great Geyser. While looking at 
 this, I heard a noise, and looking up saw a burst of water 
 and steam a little way off, that the guide said was the Little 
 Geyser. It is 106 yards south of the Strokr. I went to it, 
 and found an irregular but voluminous burst of water, rising 
 with considerable noise, eight or ten feet high. It played 
 about five minutes, and stopped. I found that it played in 
 a similar way at pretty regular intervals of about half an 
 hour, throughout the day. About noon, some two hours 
 after the first alarm, I heard again the signal-guns of the 
 big Geyser. The discharges were near a dozen, following 
 one another in quick succession, sounding like the firing of 
 artillery at sea, at the distance of two or three miles. I ran 
 up to the Geyser, and saw the water in a state of violent 
 agitation, and soon it rose six or eight feet, in a column or 
 mass, directly over the pipe. It, however, soon subsided, and 
 the water in the basin, from being full and running over, 
 sank down the pipe till the basin became nearly empty. I 
 was doomed to disappointment this time, there being no 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 105 
 
 more eruption than this. It was two or three hours before 
 the basin got full of water again. About four o'clock I 
 heard the reports again, and louder than before ; the guide 
 hallooed to me, and we ran up near the margin of the basin. 
 The explosions continued, perhaps, two minutes, the water 
 becoming greatly agitated, filling the basin to overflowing, 
 and then, as if the earth was opening, the fountain burst 
 forth with a shock that nearly threw me over. The water 
 shot in one immense column from the whole size of the 
 pipe, and rose perpendicularly, separating a little into dif- 
 ferent streams as it ascended. Such a spectacle no words 
 can describe. Its height, as near as I could judge, was 
 about 70 or *75 feet. The awful noise, as a renewal of the 
 forces kept the water in play, seemed as if a thousand en- 
 gines were discharging their steam-pipes up through a pool 
 of boiling water. Great quantities of steam accompanied 
 it, bjit not enough to hide the column of water. We stood 
 in perfect safety within forty feet of the fountain all the 
 time it was playing, which was about six or eight minutes. 
 Well was it said that, had Louis XIV. of France seen the 
 Geysers of Iceland, he never would have made the fount- 
 ains of Versailles. Compare the work of man, when he 
 makes a spurting jet from a pipe with a two inch bore, to a 
 column of boiling water ten feet in diameter, and near a 
 hundred feet high, and rushing up with the noise and act- 
 ual force of a volcano ! Fiddle-de-dee ! As well put a 
 boy's pop-gun beside of one of Paixhan's sixty-four pound- 
 ers. I had thought that Niagara Falls was the greatest 
 curiosity, and Fingal's Cave, at StafTa, the most pleasing one 
 
106 RAMBLES IN ICELAND, 
 
 that I had ever seen ; but — though not at all alike — the 
 great Geyser of Iceland, as a marvellous work of nature, 
 eclipses them both. Give a Barnum the power of a Pros- 
 pero, and let him gather together, in one place, the Mam- 
 moth Cave of Kentucky, Niagara Falls, the Natural Bridge 
 in Virginia, Fingal's Cave, and the Great Geyser, and get a 
 fence built round -them. Fury ! What a show-shop he 
 could open ! Well, after all, it is a happy thing that the 
 great curiosities of the world are pretty well distributed over 
 the earth's surface. The Geyser played lower and lower, 
 and in the course of two or three minutes after it began to 
 recede, had all sunk down into the pipe, leaving the basin 
 quite empty, and the pipe also down for about ten feet. 
 This was the first time I had an opportunity of looking into 
 the pipe. The water was scarcely agitated at all, but slowly 
 rising. In the course of two and a half hours the basin was 
 again full and overflowing. According to the most reliable 
 estimates, the maximum height of the eruptions of the Great 
 Geyser is from 90 to 100 feet. Olafsen and Povelsen, two 
 Icelandic writers who flourished near a hundred years ago, 
 estimated the height to be 360 feet ; evidently a great ex- 
 aggeration. Some have attempted to prove by mathemat- 
 ics and the law of projectiles that water cannot by any 
 force or power be thrown in a stream over 95 or 96 feet high. 
 Fire-engines disprove this, but at any rate that seems to be 
 about the height of the highest jets of the Great Geyser. 
 Sir John Stanley, in 1789, calculated the height by a quad- 
 rant, of the highest eruption that he saw, at 96 feet. Dr. 
 Hooker estimated it at 100, and Sir George Mackenzie at 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 101 
 
 90 feet. The first account of these remarkable fountains 
 dates back about 600 years. To me, one of the most re- 
 markable circumstances connected with Iceland is, the con- 
 stant and regular supply of fire that keeps springs of water 
 at a boiling heat, and sends forth fountains with a force be- 
 yond all human power, and with a constant and unceasing 
 regularity, for hundreds, and, for aught we know to the con- 
 trary, for thousands of years. Whence is the supply of 
 fuel ? Why does it not all get consumed ? But a child 
 can ask a question that a man cannot answer. Some have 
 attempted by drawings and illustrations to figure out a 
 theory of pipes, cavities, and conduits under the earth, that, 
 supplied with a constant stream of hot water, would produce 
 the eruptions that we see. The great irregularity in time 
 and in force seems to set at naught the wisest calcula- 
 tions. We can see the effect produced, and can look on 
 and admire, but the springs of action are hid by the Al- 
 mighty in the wonderful laboratory of nature. 
 
 When the poet spoke of his blood boiling like "the 
 springs of Hekla," he undoubtedy meant the Geysers. A 
 man's blood would be in a state of violent commotion if it 
 equalled the activity displayed by the Strokr, or his 
 brother the Great Geyser. The Strohr is little less remark- 
 able or interesting than the Great Geyser. Though of less 
 magnitude, it throws its stream of water higher, and wider 
 too, and more varied, in consequence of its rather irregular 
 bore. This bore, or pipe, is somewhat rough and a little 
 crooked, like the Irishman's gun, made for "shooting 
 round a corner." One rule seems to pervade all the 
 
108 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Geysers or shooting springs of Iceland. The larger they 
 are, the more seldom their eruptions. The Great Geyser, 
 from what I can learn, does not give one of its highest 
 eruptions oftener than once in one or two days, the Strokr 
 once or twice a day generally, and the Little Geyser every 
 thirty or forty minutes. The Strokr can be made to erupt 
 by throwing in stones or turf. The former sometimes 
 choke it up, but turf and sods do not ; and moreover they 
 produce a fine effect by giving a black, inky appearance to 
 the water. I had my guide cut up a quantity of turf with 
 a spade, and, piling them up on the margin, we threw 
 them — several bushels at a time — down the well of the 
 Strokr, They splashed in the water, which was boiling 
 furiously, as usual, about twenty feet below the top. The 
 ebullition nearly ceased, and we watched it with great 
 interest for some little time, but no eruption seemed to 
 come at the call we had made. We walked away a few 
 steps, thinking that this method of producing an eruption 
 was not infallible, when suddenly it shot forth with a 
 tremendous explosion, throwing its column of dirty water 
 an immense height. As near as I could judge, the water 
 ascended just about one hundred and thirty feet. The 
 explosive, or, rather, eruptive force was not quite as regular 
 as in the Great Geyser, but would momentarily slacken, 
 and be renewed, the height of the column sometimes not 
 being over seventy or eighty feet high. How black and 
 inky the water looked ! and occasionally pieces of turf 
 were seen flying high in the air. I know not how it was, 
 but after the first surprise was over, I had a most irresist- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 109 
 
 ible propensity to laugh; and, considering it a very- 
 innocent exercise, I indulged it. After playing about 
 fifteen minutes, it began to slacken, and gradually settled 
 down. It took some time, however, to get over its " black 
 vomit," caused by the turf and earth that we administered. 
 After dropping below the surface, and sinking down into 
 the pipe, up 'twould come again ; and, as the water would 
 reach the surface of the ground, it would seem to burst and 
 shoot not- only high but wide. The falling water wet the 
 earth for some twenty or thirty feet from the pipe. I 
 picked up some small fragments of the grass turf that we 
 had thrown in, and found them literally cooked. 
 
 Some twenty years ago a horse fell into one of the mud 
 springs here at the Geysers, and never was seen afterwards. 
 Poor pony! to be boiled in seething mud was a worse 
 punishment than Falstaff met with when he was pitched into 
 Datchett mead. In the northern part of Iceland, an ox fell 
 into a Geyser, and after he was fairly cooked he was blown 
 out by an eruption. Whether he was served up at a 
 banquet afterwards, I have not been able to learn. The 
 pieces of turf that were thrown out of the Strokr looked 
 more like pieces of seal-skin than they did like turf. It 
 w r as enough to alter the appearance of anything, a boiling 
 of ten minutes in this infernal cauldron. There is a sin- 
 gular cave, about a mile in extent, a day's journey north of 
 Thingvalla, that the Icelanders call Surtshellir, or Cave of 
 Surtar (Satan) — in English, the Devil's Cave. No Ice- 
 landic guide will ever go into it. When travelers explore 
 it they must go alone. They believe it is the habitation of 
 
110 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 his satanic majesty ; and that when he comes above 
 ground to set the world on fire, he will come up out of this 
 cave. I wonder if he don't come to the Geysers sometimes 
 to cook his dinner. He might indulge in what Pope calls a 
 feast of "infernal venison." In that case he probably 
 catches a wild reindeer — of which there are plenty in the 
 island — and bakes him on Mount Hekla, instead of taking 
 the witty poet's bill of fare, " a roasted tiger, stuffed with 
 tenpenny nails " ! 
 
 Though the Strohr plays once or twice every day, 
 of its own accord, yet I took a malicious pleasure in 
 provoking it to a " blow out ; " and a few hours after the 
 first, I asked the guide to give it another dose of turf. He 
 looked into it, and seeing the boiling rather feeble, said it 
 was no use ; it had not yet received strength for another 
 effort. Still he tried it, and we waited to see it " go on a 
 bu'st " ! It would not ; but about two hours afterwards it 
 exploded, and we saw another grand eruption, similar 
 to the first. Our sensations are altogether different in 
 looking at these works of nature, from what they are at 
 seeing an artificial fountain, however brilliant. In the 
 latter case we know the power that propels the water, but 
 here we look on and wonder at the unseen power that for 
 hundreds of years keeps these marvellous fountains in 
 operation. It would be a problem worth solving to see 
 how far a shaft or excavation in the vicinity of those springs 
 could be carried in a perpendicular direction, before finding 
 water or earth that should be so hot as to stop the progress 
 of the works. Hot springs are scattered all over Iceland, 
 
RAMBLES IX ICELAND. Ill 
 
 to the number of thousands, and at nearly every step you 
 see lava, volcanoes, or extinct craters. Seeing the constant 
 proofs of subterranean heat, as developed in the hot springs, 
 it cannot be doubted that heat, if not actual fire, would be 
 found at a short distance below the surface, in most any 
 part of the country. A truce to speculation. I hope the 
 day is not far distant, when experiments and investigations 
 of a scientific character shall be made by men of learning, 
 in different parts of this extraordinary country. 
 
 There are two or three farm-houses in the vicinity, and 
 near one of them, in a hot spring, I saw a large iron kettle 
 placed, and in it were clothes boiling. Indeed, if these 
 hot springs were movable property, would they not be 
 worth something attached to a large hotel or bathing 
 establishment ? I boiled a piece of meat for my dinner 
 in one of the springs, and while the culinary operation 
 was going on, I went to a pool in the brook that flows 
 from the Great Geyser, and had a most delicious warm 
 bath. 'Twas all gratis — no charge for heating the water. 
 The brooks that flow from the Geysers all retain their heat 
 more or less for several hundred yards, until they are 
 swallowed up in the icy cold river into which they empty. 
 Some travelers have spoken of a sulphury taste to meat 
 boiled in the Geysers, but I did not observe it. A good 
 many birds were all day flying about the Geysers. They 
 were the tern or sea-swallow, a bird very common in 
 Iceland, both on the seashore and inland. The Icelanders 
 call them the cree. This bird is common in England, but I 
 never remember to have seen them in America. What 
 
112 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 light, elegant, and graceful creatures they are on the wing ! 
 Their flight is as light and easy as that of the butterfly ; in 
 motion, as swift as a swallow, and as graceful as a seagull. 
 They are about the size of the pigeon, with very long 
 wings and a forked tail, like the barn swallow. They are 
 nearly white, with a slight blue shade, like the clear sky ; 
 just like that delicate cerulean tinge that the ladies like to 
 give their white handkerchiefs. They kept up a constant 
 cry or scream that was not unpleasant, and often flew so 
 near us that I could see their eyes. I climbed to the top 
 of the hill that is just west of the Geysers, and found 
 it higher than I had anticipated. It looks low in com- 
 parison with the high mountain, the Bjarnarfell, that 
 is back of it. It is composed of lava, slags, scoriae, volcanic 
 sand, &c. The back side of it is very precipitous ; about 
 perpendicular. This hill is called Laugarfjall (pronounced 
 La-gar-fe-at-l), or hot spring mountain. Between this and 
 the Bjarnarfell is a small river flowing through green 
 meadows. I should have been glad to have ascended the 
 larger mountain, but had not time without running the risk 
 of missing an eruption of the Great Geyser. I gathered 
 some fine specimens of the petrifactions formed by the 
 water, by breaking them up from the bottom of the brook 
 a short distance from the basin. In appearance they much 
 resemble the heads of cauliflower ; in color, nearly white. ■ 
 The incrustations are far more beautiful a little way from 
 the fountain head than in the basin itself} as the silicious 
 deposit is made principally as the water cools. I noticed 
 that grass grew over a portion of the ground among the 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 113 
 
 numerous hot springs ; but near the sources of them there is 
 evidently too much heat, there being nothing but bare 
 earth around them. There are no springs of cold water in 
 the vicinity. 
 
 But night has arrived, and I must depart. Though 
 I had seen all of these remarkable fountains in active play, I 
 was reluctant to leave them. I turned my steps towards 
 the humble cottage of the peasant of Haukadalr, for 
 another night's rest before starting south to see Mount 
 
 Hekla. 
 
 6 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 •It is no dream : — 
 
 The wild horse swims the wilder stream. 
 
 Mazeppa. 
 
 Our pleasant stay at the Geysers was finished, the last 
 look taken ; the last piece of bacon that we had boiled in 
 Dame Nature's cauldron, had disappeared ; the farmer of 
 Haukadalr had given us his good benediction and a hearty 
 grip of the hand, while he pocketed the dollars that we 
 gave him ; and, our ponies being ready, we prepared to 
 leave. The old raven, too, — for here in Iceland " the raven 
 croaks him on the chimney top," as he did when and 
 where Richard the III. was born, — the old raven had 
 croaked out his farewell. There is no blinking the matter ; 
 we have to face it. Mount Hekla is in the distance, and 
 visit it we must. It was two days journey there, and seve- 
 ral terrible rivers lay in the route ; but hospitable Icelanders 
 lived on the way, and the soft plank floors of orthodox 
 church "hotels" invite the traveler to spread down his 
 blanket and repose. Reader, just glance at a map of Ice- 
 land, such a one as Mr. Gunnlaugsonn's — but you haven't 
 got one ; then put one " in your mind's eye," or imagine 
 yourself in a balloon about "these parts," and see what a 
 tract of country we have to travel through. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 115 
 
 To the north, just about the center of Iceland, the 
 ranges of the Lang Jokull and Hofs Jokull lift their heads 
 and show their crowns of perpetual snow ; to the east lies 
 Skaptar Jokull, once terrible, in an eruption the most 
 devastating that ever occurred, but now hushed in grim 
 repose, and covered with a snow-white blanket. Far to the 
 south is Mount Hekla, with a slight bit of snow near the 
 top, and rearing its burning summit near six thousand feet 
 above the level of the sea. Encircled by these mountains 
 is a valley, the most extensive tract of fertile land in Ice- 
 land, and drained by its largest rivers. Behind us lay the 
 Bruara, and next was the Arbrandsa ; but the Hvita ( Wheet- 
 ow) the Laxa, and the Thjorsa, are far the largest, the last 
 more than 150 miles in length, and draining the extensive 
 glaciers of the Hofs and Skaptar Jokulls. These rivers 
 flow in a southwestern direction, emptying into the Atlan- 
 tic between the Westmann Islands and Cape Keykjanes. 
 We dashed into the Arbrandsa, and were through it in a 
 hurry, our ponies making light of the three feet of water 
 and a swift current. Don't ask us how we fared. The rain 
 over head, and the rivers, lakes, and hot springs, had made 
 us amphibious before this, about as effectually as if we had 
 been born otters or sea-gulls. What a splendid meadow 
 we pass through, here in the beautiful valley of the Hvita ! 
 Here the " mower whets his scythe ;" and such a scythe ! — 
 about two feet long and an inch wide, hung on a straight 
 snath. But don't he cut the grass clean to the turf ? He 
 shaves it down as close as some men reap their chins — 
 those that shave at all, I mean — "let the galled jade 
 
116 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 wince," our beard is uncut. But we were speaking of an 
 Iceland meadow. How can grass grow in Iceland? you 
 ask. Why, right out of the ground ; for the soil, though 
 shallow, is quite fertile. An Iceland meadow looks very 
 much like a good pasture when nothing has been in it for 
 some six weeks : grass thick, green, and soft ; but very little 
 of it running up to seed. The grass looks like our " red 
 top." White clover would do well, undoubtedly, if they 
 would sow it. Almost every Icelander unites the occupa- 
 tions of farmer and fisherman. In June he goes to sea " to 
 fish for cod," and in July and August cuts and secures his 
 hay. This is a very important operation with the Ice- 
 lander, for without hay his animals would die in the winter. 
 The hay is fed to the sheep and cattle ; the horses have to 
 do without. How a race of animals like the horse manage 
 to live without a particle of attention, shelter, or food, for a 
 loug Iceland winter, except just what they can get out of 
 doors, is more than we can divine. Guess they're used to 
 it 1 They eat the dead grass, often having to paw away 
 the snow to get it ; they go on the mountains, gather moss, 
 browse the stunted shrubbery ; and when driven from the 
 fields and the mountains, they go down on the sea-shore 
 and pick up sea-weed. When badly pushed with hunger, 
 they will eat fish bones, offal, scraps of leather, wood, heath, 
 and shrubbery, and almost every thing but earth and stones. 
 Still, they very seldom die. They seem hardened by the 
 climate, and fitted to endure the changing seasons as they 
 roll. In winter they get reduced to skeletons, mere skin 
 and bones; but towards the last of May, when the grass 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 11 7 
 
 begins to grow, it is surprising how quick they get fat. 
 Every horse in our troop is literally fat, and no oats did 
 they ever eat ; neither have they swallowed the barrel, for 
 you can't see the hoops on their sides ! Were you to offer 
 any grain to an Iceland horse, he would not know what 
 you meant, and undoubtedly would think you joking. 
 
 Tell John Gossin, if Tom Spring had been an Iceland 
 pony, Deaf Burke never would have kicked him " where 
 he put his oats." Of course the horses in the towns that 
 are worked, are fed in the winter. The hay being cut and 
 dried is tied up in large bundles and " toted " off on men's 
 backs to the stack-yard. If the distance is long, they sling 
 large bundles each side of a pony's back, and he carries it 
 off. And big loads they will carry ; a pony thus loaded 
 looks like a moving hay-stack. The farmer makes a square 
 yard, walls of stone, and turf, and this he fills with long, 
 low stacks, which he covers with long strips of turf cut up 
 from the surface of a tough bog grass-field ; and when the 
 stack remains over a second summer, this turf grows, and 
 an Iceland settlement presents the curious appearance of 
 houses, stone walls, and hay-stacks covered with green grass 
 like the meadows and pastures on every side. 
 
 Scythes, spades, small rakes with teeth about an inch 
 and a half long, pitchforks and ropes, are all the tools an 
 Icelander uses on his farm. His ropes are made of wool, 
 braided, or wool and hair mixed, the manes and tails of 
 the horses being laid under contribution for the latter arti- 
 cle. At the farm of Haukadalr, this traveler astonished 
 the natives considerably, by taking hold of a scythe, and 
 
118 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 showing them that he could mow. Leaving the fine farm 
 and meadows, we crossed a long stream of lava — a high 
 bleak ridge — and soon reached the bank of the White 
 Kiver, along which we traveled for several miles. Here, 
 for the first time in Iceland, we saw the red-headed pochard 
 (fuligula ruftna), the most beautiful of all the duck tribe. 
 This bird, naturalists inform us, is found in North America, 
 near to the Arctic circle, in Europe south, as far as Italy, 
 and east, to the Himalaya mountains in Asia ; a pretty wide 
 range for one sweet bird. The pair we saw showed the 
 spirit of ancient Romans by manifesting an unconquerable 
 hatred for JVero, our traveling companion. They doubtless 
 had a nest ; for they chased us for miles, and when they got 
 tired of chasing the dog, he would chase them. As beau- 
 tiful as these birds were, had we earned a gun, it is barely 
 possible that an invitation might have been extended to 
 these pretty creatures to come down and dine with us. 
 Blessed birds : of course I was not so unfeeling as to wish 
 to hurt them ! 
 
 The pochard is a bird that lives on inland waters, not at 
 sea. His head and neck are reddish brown, with a rich 
 gloss, a " collar " round the neck ; back and throat black ; 
 other parts brown, white, and mottled. It is about the size 
 of the canvas-back duck. One species of pochard has a 
 beautiful crest of feathers adorning the top of its head. 
 Soon after the pair of birds left us, we saw three or four 
 more. We traveled several miles down the right bank of 
 the Hvita, and a magnificent river it is. Twice the size of 
 the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, confined between high banks, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 119 
 
 it rushes its milky-looking flood onwards to the ocean. 
 Indeed, this is a terrible stream. 
 
 The banks of the Hvita, for several miles, are from 100 
 to 150 feet high, and perpendicular. What an explosion 
 there must have been when that crack burst in the lava, 
 and formed the chasm where the river flows ! The stream, 
 too, has undoubtedly worn it much deeper than it was at 
 first. And how swift the river runs ! Where will streams 
 be swift, if not on mountainous islands ? The water, too, 
 like milk ; perhaps the snow colors it ! Some have dived 
 a little deeper for the cause, and contend the clay on the 
 mountains colors it. We finally emerged on to a broad 
 plain ; and here, near the church and farm of Brsethratunga, 
 the high banks became lower, and we prepared to cross. 
 From certain ominous hints thrown out by the guide, I 
 made up my mind for a swim. The river was nearly a mile 
 wide, but the current was broken by several low islands. 
 We tightened girths, placed the baggage as near on the 
 top of the horses' backs as possible, and rode in. The first 
 island was gained easily enough, the water not exceeding 
 three feet deep. The next channel was a turbulent and 
 fearful -looking torrent. In we plunged, and as ill luck 
 would have it, my pony was the lowest one of the lot — 
 scarcely twelve hands high. The others were over their 
 backs in the water, and mine went a little lower down the 
 stream, got out of his depth, and away we went down the 
 river. My head and shoulders were out of water, but 
 nothing could be seen of the poor pony except his nose 
 and the tip of his ears. I stuck to him like a kingfisher to 
 
120 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 a black bass, but let him " gang his ain gait," and he pulled 
 for the island. Had it not been a long one, and extended 
 well down the stream, we should have missed it, and gone 
 out to sea, or else to Davy Jones' locker. But we struck 
 the lower end of it, and just saved ourselves. Though I 
 have not experienced cold weather nor snow here, there is 
 one thing that is cold in Iceland, and that is, the milky- 
 looking water in the turbulent rivers. It was a little the 
 coldest bath I ever took. The white pony did the swim- 
 ming, and he swam like a good fellow, or I should have 
 jumped off and tried my own flippers. The dog, too, had 
 a hard time of it. Poor Nero, he did not find his swim as 
 comfortable as his imperial namesake used to in a Roman 
 bath. He swam after us, but the current carried him so 
 swiftly away that he got below the point of the island, and 
 I thought he must be lost. The poor dog howled in de- 
 spair, and turned back. He was a noble animal, and I 
 really commiserated his unfortunate situation, for he was 
 beyond any help from us. By hard swimming he gained 
 the shallow water, and got back to the island we last left. 
 Now, look at the sagacity of a dog. He saw he must come 
 to us, or be left the west side of the river, near a hundred 
 miles from home. So he went clear to the upper end of 
 the island, and started again. The diagonal course that his 
 swimming and the current took him, just lodged him on the 
 lower end of the island, where we were. The next two 
 channels were wide, but not deep, and we forded them 
 without difficulty ; and after about three-quarters of an 
 hour, we climbed up the eastern bank of the stream. We 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 121 
 
 were now about ten miles northeast of Skalholt, that apoc- 
 ryphal capital* of Iceland. I saw a beautiful red flower 
 growing on one of the islands in this river, and I stopped 
 and gathered some seeds. Perhaps they will add one to 
 our floral variety in America. 
 
 My swim did me no damage — the rain for some days 
 past having seasoned me, so that, like the skinned eels, I 
 was used to it. Be it here recorded for the benefit of poor, 
 erring, and sinful man, the slave of habit, fashion's minion, 
 Plato's biped without feathers — all erring mortals who mar 
 what God hath made, those who scrape their faces with 
 villainous steel, those who doff Dame Nature's garb, and 
 find no substitute — all these, and any' others, if such there 
 be, are informed that this wanderer has never once 
 " caught cold," not the slightest, since this " beard " of 
 mine had six weeks' pith. And this with the damp fogs 
 of England, steamboating in the Baltic, coasting by Nor- 
 way, " schoonering " in the Arctic sea, camping out in Ice- 
 land, swimming the cold rivers, sleeping on the ground, 
 climbing snowy mountains, and various " moving accidents 
 by flood and field," — this is saying something for nearly 
 three years' experience of throwing away the razor. But I 
 see how it is, my friends will never know what a *' magni- 
 ficent Turk " I am, until I get my phiz engraved — brass on 
 wood ! — or else put in " dagger o' type ;" and this will em- 
 phatically say to all my miserable, chin-shaven brethren, 
 Go and do likewise. Ahem, where was I ? On the east 
 bank of the White River, shivering with the effects of a 
 cold bath. A broad tract of lava was our road, and no 
 8* 
 
122 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 vegetable life for a long distance, save the heath that ap- 
 peared here and there, now in full bloom. A few hours' 
 ride, part of it through a good farming country, brought 
 us to Hruni. In various directions on our route, we saw 
 the steam of hot springs rising up. Hruni is not a large 
 town. It contains a church, a farm, and the residence of 
 the clergyman. Indeed, I was glad to see a friendly roof. 
 It had rained for hours, and though the rain had warmed 
 the ice-water, still 'twas wet. I felt as if a log cabin would 
 have been a palace ; but here was a house, a good one, a 
 framed building with a wooden roof. Never was hospitality 
 more welcome, nor was it ever extended more freely. It was 
 about three o'clock, and we had been in our saddles since 
 nine, and a long, rough, and wet time we had had of it. 
 The clergyman, Herre Johann Briem, one of nature's noble- 
 men, indeed, gave me a hearty welcome. He set before me 
 bread, butter, cheese, coffee, milk ; and a most capital bottle 
 of port wine he uncorked. I shall not tell how many 
 glasses of it went under my jacket before I left. Indeed, 
 I never counted them. 
 
 Mr. Briem was physically one of the finest men I have 
 ever seen. At least six feet three inches high, and well- 
 proportioned, he would have been a striking figure among 
 the grenadiers of Frederick the Great. The house had 
 good furniture, and a fine library covered one wall of his 
 parlor. Here I saw, for the first time in Iceland, the u An- 
 tiquitates Americana" a work issued by the Society of 
 Northern Antiquaries at Copenhagen, giving the full ac- 
 count of the " x\nte-Columbian Discovery of America." 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 123 
 
 Admiring a little book in Mr. Briem's library, a volume of 
 the "Norihurfari" an Icelandic Annual for 1849, he very 
 politely made me a present of it. I felt ashamed at ac- 
 cepting it ; but I could do no otherwise, though I had 
 nothing, not the slightest thing about me, either English or 
 American, that" I could present him in return. A fine intel- 
 lect beamed from Mr. Briem's countenance, and his hospi- 
 talities were as graceful as his person was comely. He 
 showed me a splendidly printed volume, a large octavo 
 Danish and Icelandic Dictionary. 
 
 I can inform the old Austrian dame — that Madame Trol- 
 lope, the conceited Ida Pfeiffer — that all the Iceland clergy- 
 men I met, were as hospitable as Mr. Briem. Some of the 
 very same clergymen who entertained her, also opened their 
 houses to me ; and not a penny of compensation could I 
 ever get them to take, although she most falsely states they 
 received her money for entertaining her. This is the wo- 
 man that runs all over the world, and writes books about 
 what she sees, and much that she does not see ; and because 
 the governor of Iceland would not be bored by her shallow 
 Highness, then she pens all manner of false and libelous 
 stories of the most kind, hospitable, unoffending race of 
 people that the sun shines upon. The best comment that 
 can be made on her book is, that she describes her journey 
 to Mt. Hekla, and ascent to the summit, when the people 
 here on the ground told me she never put her foot on the 
 mountain at all ! 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Up the high hill he heaves a huge round stone. 
 The huge round stone resulting with a bound, 
 Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground. 
 
 Homer. 
 
 All pleasant sojourns must end ; all oases must fade in 
 the distance as we journey o'er the desert sands of life. 
 Though it rained hard, an hour after I stopped with " mine 
 host," the intelligent clergyman of Hruni, we were in our 
 saddles, and the white, the black, and the chestnut ponies 
 were scampering " over the hills and far away." The far- 
 mer of Haukadalr left us here, and Mr. Briem sent one of 
 his farm servants to show us the way. It is two pretty 
 good days' ride from the Geysers to Hekla ; and we had. yet 
 two large rivers to cross, and sundry mountains, valleys, 
 lava-beds, and green fields to go over or get round, before 
 we were half way to the celebrated volcano. Near the 
 house we passed a very large spring of limpid water that 
 looked most deliciously tempting for a swim. Getting 
 off my horse, I tried the temper of it, and found it 96° 
 of Fahrenheit, just comfortable for a warm bath. Our 
 route took us across the Laxa, a broad, shallow river ; and 
 here were some of the best farms I had seen in Iceland. 
 The white clover was here, the first I had seen of it, and 
 the meadows evidently produced nearly or quite double the 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 125 
 
 hay that those did which were seeded down with the native 
 grass alone. The blooming clover whitening the fields gave 
 the land a fine appearance, and half made me think I was 
 back home again. A forest of maple and beech trees would 
 have completed the illusion. I saw here, as I did in other 
 places, caraway growing spontaneously in the fields ; and 
 it was as tall, as finely-flavored, and as well-seeded as you 
 find it with us. It is not indigenous here ; but some being 
 brought to Iceland and planted, it has propagated itself 
 over a good portion of the cultivated parts of the island. 
 The same is true of the white clover. 
 
 The meadow lands in Iceland are rough in surface, just 
 in a state of nature, not one acre in ten thousand ever hav- 
 ing had the turf broken. They are not plowed and " seeded 
 down," but get seeded and grassed over by nature. As I 
 have mentioned, there is not a plow or a harrow in the 
 whole country. The garden spots round the houses seldom 
 exceed the sixteenth part of an acre, and they are dug up 
 with a spade. The angelica — angelica archangelica — the 
 same that grows in our wet meadows in America, is here 
 grown and used as a salad. It is a native of Iceland. With 
 us it is reputed poisonous ; but here I have eaten it, and 
 think it has a very pleasant taste. Many a boy in our north- 
 ern States has made a flute out of an " angelica stalk ;" but 
 probably few of them ever ate it afterwards, or thought of 
 applying the Highland proverb to it, " Here's baith meat 
 and music, quoth the dog when he ate the piper's bag." 
 Every thing in Iceland seems to go by contraries, the an- 
 gelica and " red-top " grass, and other of our aquatic and 
 
126 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 swamp plants, flourishing everywhere, on dry as well as 
 on wet soil. 
 
 The peasant soon returned, leaving us pursuing our way 
 south. In the valley of the Laxa the lava is seen in great 
 variety of color. Much of it is in high, red hills, as bright 
 as if it had been painted. Some of it is black, and some 
 brown. The red was the softest and most porous. 
 Some of the hilly river-banks were crumbling down like 
 slate cliffs, but a near view showed them to be lava. A few 
 miles travel brought us to the banks of the Thiorsa, a 
 mighty river, fay larger than any we had seen, and I believe 
 the largest in Iceland. It comes from near the interior of 
 the island, and cannot be much less than 200 miles long. 
 It drains the waters that flow from the glaciers of Hekla, 
 Hofs Jokull, Skaptar Jokull, Vatna Jokull, and Torfa Jo- 
 kull. A profile view of this river, as laid down on the large 
 map of Iceland, shows the highest branches of it to be 
 3,000 feet above the level of the sea ; half as high as Mt. 
 Hekla. 
 
 Here was a ferry, the first we had seen. The Thiorsa is 
 nearly three-quarters of a mile wide here ; and its depth — I 
 believe I will not tell how deep it is — ask the great north- 
 ern diver, for he may have been to the bottom of it : I have 
 not. The farmer-ferryman and his son left their hay-field, 
 and in a stout skiff rowed us across. The horses were tied 
 together in a string, the nose of one to the tail of another ; 
 and the guide sat in the stern of the boat, and led the for- 
 ward one. The poor ponies had hard work in swimming the 
 cold river, and seemed to sutler some. They tried hard to 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 12*7 
 
 get into the boat, but that would have shipwrecked us in- 
 evitably. The powerful current threw us a long distance 
 down the river before we landed on the south side. The 
 boatman charged me half a dollar, Danish, about thirty 
 cents ; cheap enough certainly for his fatigue and danger. 
 At eight o'clock we arrived at the farm and church of 
 Skarth, where we tarried all night. The clergyman of the 
 parish does not live here, but the obliging farmer did every 
 thing he could to make me comfortable. I think I stated 
 that I had arrived at the dignity of sleeping under the 
 bed. That is a luxury that until lately has only been ac- 
 corded to princes. The eider-down bed, from the Iceland 
 eider-duck, has long been noted for its lightness and soft- 
 ness. It is perhaps the greatest non-conductor of heat that 
 can be used as a covering. It is altogether too warm. A 
 down bed a foot thick looks as if it would smother you 
 when put on top of the bed, but its perceptible weight is 
 nothing. I usually kicked off this down covering long 
 before morning, for it is impervious to all the insensible 
 perspiration, and cpnsequently in less than half an hour 
 the sleeper finds himself perspiring profusely. I some- 
 times put the down bed under me, and used my Highland 
 plaid for a covering. The unhealthiness of down beds has 
 been discovered, and kings and nobles have ceased, in a 
 great measure, to use them ; and consequently the price of 
 down has greatly fallen, and now every peasant can afford 
 to have a bed of down. Here I slept in a church for the 
 first time. Learning that it was customary for travelers 
 in Iceland, I had no scruples at sleeping under the same 
 
128 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 roof with the church mice. As we are all destined to take 
 a long sleep some day in a church yard, or somewhere 
 else, I thought I might as well begin now, try it by de- 
 grees, and see how I liked it. I did not know but the rap- 
 ping ghost of old Thor with his sledge hammer would rap 
 confusion into my noddle, after his usual Iceland style of 
 " thunder in the winter ;" but I was not disturbed. I slept 
 perfectly sound, till the sun was high in heaven. The 
 green mounds around the church looked as peaceful, and 
 no doubt the spirits of the dead were as quiet in heaven, as 
 if no Sassenach had been here to disturb their slumbers. 
 A good reason why old Thor did not disturb me. He is a 
 heathen deity, and totally indifferent to any use whatever 
 that churches may be pinV to. Perhaps, were I to go into 
 one of his caves without reverently laying my shoes aside, 
 and offering up my guide as a sacrifice, he might jump out 
 of the crater of Hekla, and hit me a rap that would give 
 my " daylights " their exit, or knock me where the sun 
 never sets. I gave the farmer a dollar, for milk, cream, 
 horse-pasture, and church-rent, and for the first time got a 
 hearty Iceland salute. Throwing his arms round my neck 
 he gave me a smack that fairly echoed from the surround- 
 ing hills. 
 
 From Skarth, the Eyjafjalla and Tindfjalla Jokulls show 
 their broad, snowy sides and summits ; but Hekla is the 
 most conspicuous. The whole mountain, near to the top, is 
 black. Near the summit there are some spots of snow that 
 extend more or less down the north side, while a curling 
 wreath of smoke on the apex reveals the existence of the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 129 
 
 fire within. We started directly towards the mountain, 
 with the farmer for our guide. On every side of Hekla, as 
 far as we could see, much of the ground was covered with 
 black lava. The land over which we rode here was covered 
 with lava and volcanic sand, and, what is seldom seen in 
 such a situation, tufts of grass grew here and there. Heath 
 is nearly the first vegetation that finds root on the lava. 
 Here, in a pasture near a river, we saw a splendid lot of 
 horses. What a wild, untamed look they had ; sleek and 
 fat, with long, flowing tails and manes ! They appeared 
 like the flock that crossed the path of Mazeppa. The Ice- 
 land farmers usually keep great numbers of horses, and 
 there is no country in the world where they can be raised 
 so cheaply. And they sell these animals cheap. I saw a 
 beautiful, jet black, four-year old, at the Geysers, an entire 
 horse, that had never been saddled. His form was symme- 
 try itself. He was just about twelve and a half hands high. 
 I asked the price — less than ten dollars, our money. In 
 Boston or New York he would bring $150 or $200. We 
 crossed the Vestri Ranga, a small stream, and arrived about 
 the middle of the afternoon at Noefrholt, the last farm and 
 the last green spot this side of Hekla. The farmer was from 
 home ; and our farmer from Skarth, who had accompanied 
 us, started ofT after him. He had not got far before down 
 he came, thrown by his horse, or rather falling off, for I 
 could see nothing to bring him out of the saddle. Perhaps 
 Mr. Cogniac Brandy, or somebody else, had put a " brick " 
 in his hat. He was a big, beefy fellow, and fell tumbling 
 down like a meal-sack. I thought he must be killed, and 
 
130 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 ran to help him ; but he was up in a jiffy, and under full 
 gallop in less than a minute, vaulting into his saddle on the 
 off side at that. It takes an Icelander, to fall and not hurt 
 him. I rather think this one would tumble down Mount 
 Hekla and never bruise his shins. The farmer came home, 
 and told us we could put up at his house ; and then the 
 Skarth farmer returned to his home. This was the first 
 really pleasant evening I had seen during my journey, and 
 it bid fair for a clear day on the morrow. Unless it were 
 so, it would be useless to attempt the ascent of Hekla, and 
 expect to see any thing. I took the guide, and climbed to 
 the top of a steep mountain, one of several about a thou- 
 sand feet high that skirt the base of Hekla, and seemed to 
 stand as sentries near their fiery and warlike monarch. 
 Here the recollection of my boyish days and boyish sports 
 came up, and I felt like having a little fun. There was a 
 grand chance for rolling stones down hill, and we improved 
 it. After setting off a number of different sizes, we noticed 
 a ponderous boulder partly buried in the earth. It looked 
 as if it could be moved. It was nearly .round, and would 
 weigh five or six tons. I called the guide to help me push 
 it off, but he looked ominously at the house far on the plain 
 below. I convinced him that it could not go there ; and 
 then he showed me the farmer's wall, a beautiful dyke of 
 stones and turf that separated the meadow below from the 
 mountain pasture. I told him I would pay all damage ; and 
 we got behind it. With our backs to the mountain, and 
 feet against it, we crowded it out of its bed. It fell with an 
 awful crash through about a hundred feet of jagged rocks, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 131 
 
 nearly perpendicular, and then took the sloping plain be- 
 low. But didn't it streak it ? The ground fairly smoked. 
 The surface was smooth sand and gravel, and within thirty 
 or thirty-five degrees of the perpendicular. Lower down, 
 the grass began to grow. The rock took a bee-line for two 
 or three hundred yards, till near the bottom, when it com- 
 menced a series of flights of " ground and lofty tumbling " 
 that would have done honor to Ducrow. One leap that I 
 measured was thirty-four feet, and there it struck the far- 
 mer's wall. It walked through it as if it had been a cobweb, 
 making a horrible gap near six feet wide, and moving one 
 stone that would weigh at least a ton. "Well, it was capital 
 fun. The old rock curled round in a circuit, and rested in 
 the meadow. The farmer and his family ran out of the 
 house at the noise, and he came up to meet us. The guide 
 got a furious blowing up, all of which he took very coolly. 
 I ended the confab by paying him a dollar for the damage 
 done, and he went away quite satisfied. As I had had my 
 dance, it was all fair that I should pay the fiddler. 
 
 The evening came on ; as glorious a sunset as ever 
 gilded the tops of Arctic mountains. I retired early, hoping 
 in the morning to climb the rugged steep of Mount Hekla. 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Thule, the period of cosmographie, 
 Doth vaunt of Hekla, whose sulphureous fire 
 Doth melt the frozen clime, and thaw the skie ; 
 Trinacrian ^Etna's flames ascend not hier: 
 These things seem wondrous. 
 
 Old Ballad. 
 
 Heigho for Hekla ! Thursday, July 29th, was a lofty one 
 in my calendar. The sun had many hours the start of us, get- 
 ting up as he does here at two o'clock in the morning. An 
 early hour, though, found us in our saddles. The morning 
 was magnificently bright, the mountain being visible, clear 
 to the curling wreath of smoke on the summit. Little 
 patches of snow, here and there near the top, made a break 
 in the broad, black streams of lava that covered every part 
 of the mountain. We provided ourselves with every requi- 
 site fqr a long day's journey. My knapsack was well stored 
 with good things — solids and fluids ; and then I had my 
 old Scotch companion, the tartan plaid, to keep the cold 
 away ; and each of us had a fine staff — what the Swiss 
 travelers call an Alpen stock, but ours were Hekla stocks, 
 Iceland staffs — some six feet long, and armed with a strong, 
 sharp, iron pike. My traveling guide, the farmer of 
 Noefrholt, and the reader's most humble servant, made up 
 the party — not quite a princely retinue, but enough. Yes, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 133 
 
 and there was our dog, Nero. The top of the mountain was 
 distant about seven miles, of which we could ride nearly 
 four. Away we galloped through some fine green mead- 
 ows, till we came to a mountain gorge on our right, down 
 which in numerous cascades poured a small river. Several 
 ducks and water-hens flew away as we approached their 
 mountain home. Passing through this gorge, we came into 
 a circular meadow entirely shut in by mountains, like an im- 
 mense amphitheater, and this was the last bit of productive 
 land on our way towards the summit of Hekla. A hut 
 was erected here, as a temporary residence for the farmer 
 while gathering his hay. High, precipitous hills of red 
 lava overhung our path on the right, but the ascent for 
 some distance was gradual. For near a mile, we galloped 
 our horses over a gently ascending plain of fine volcanic 
 sand. High up the mountain side were several sheep, but 
 scarce a blade of grass could be seen where they stood. 
 Perhaps they went up to enjoy the prospect of the green 
 meadows. far in the distance. We soon found our mount- 
 ain climbing was not going to be play. Our ponies found 
 it so too. Our route was intercepted by a broad and high 
 stream of lava that extended six or seven miles from the 
 summit of the mountain. We turned to the right in a 
 southerly direction, and for four or five hundred yards found 
 it about as steep as our ponies could climb. We took a 
 zig-zag course to relieve the animals, and after half an 
 hour's climbing found ourselves on a level table-land, nearly 
 half a mile across. We were now about a thousand feet 
 above the lower region, where we left the farm house ; and 
 
134 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 here we were obliged to leave our horses. The Icelanders 
 have an ingenious way of fastening their animals so they 
 will not stray away. They fasten all their horses in a cir- 
 cle, tying the head of one to the tail of another, and bring- 
 ing the head of the first round to the tail of the last. If 
 they choose to travel, they can ; but like John on his rock- 
 ing-horse, they may gallop all day in one interminable cir- 
 cle, and not get far. Near where we left the horses, extend- 
 ing away to our right, was a large stream of lava — one that 
 came from the eruption of 1845; and though seven years 
 had elapsed, it was not yet cool, and smoke was rising from 
 it in many places. The "streams of lava" that run from 
 the craters of volcanoes, and which here in Iceland are 
 seen on the plains as well as on the mountains, are usually 
 from twenty to forty feet deep, from a hundred yards to 
 half a mile in breadth, and from one to ten miles long. 
 They are vast ridges of rough, black rocks, of a most for- 
 bidding aspect, the largest masses weighing from one to 
 three or four tons. When it flows from the mountain, it is 
 a stream of molten mineral, and its progress generally 
 rather slow, but dependent on the steepness of the mount- 
 ain, and the size and the force of the stream. Melted lava 
 often does not move more than from fifty to one hundred 
 yards in a day, but in somecases it may run several miles. It 
 soon begins to explode and break up,' by the expansion and 
 escape of the air within it, and by the force of the steam 
 created by moisture on the surface of the ground beneath. 
 While the lava is breaking up, for several days, it keeps 
 up a terrible roaring. Then this rough mass, as black as 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 135 
 
 charcoal, lies unchanged in appearance for centuries. After 
 a long time, it begins to turn a little brown, and on its sur- 
 face appears in minute particles one of the lowest order of 
 mosses. 
 
 The learned Spallanzani, Brydone, Dr. Holland, and 
 others who have investigated the subject, have all agreed 
 that there is no data on which a rule can be established, or 
 a judgment formed, as to the age of the lava. -It is light 
 and porous, usually not more than half the specific gravity 
 of granite. Pumice, among other volcanic substances, is 
 lighter than water, and will float. Very old lavas are often 
 of a bright red color, and soft and light, having something 
 of the consistency of chalk. Much of the matter thrown 
 out of a volcano, at certain periods of the eruption, is in 
 the form of fine, black sand. We amused ourselves by roll- 
 ing some masses of old lava down a steep declivity into a 
 valley. It was very red, and so rotten that it broke into 
 innumerable pieces. Leaving our horses, we commenced 
 the ascent. While crossing a rough stream of lava, a mass, 
 weighing one or two tons, rolled as I stepped on it, and 
 threw me down, and I had a narrow escape from a severe 
 accident. I got off with a bruised shin, certainly not so 
 unpleasant a companion as a broken bone would be, espe- 
 cially in a region like this, where there is not a skillful sur- 
 geon within a thousand miles. Our ascent led up a valley, 
 having on our left the stream of lava aforesaid, and on our 
 right and before us a ifill of volcanic sand. Into this our 
 feet sank deeply at every step. A half an hour brought us 
 to the steep front of the mountain, and now commenced the 
 
136 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 ascent in real earnest. There was no bilking it ; climb we 
 must. Up, up we went, like crows scaling Ben Nevis. 
 How the guides traveled so easy I could not tell. They 
 had a heavy knapsack and bottles of water and bottles of milk, 
 and I had nothing ; but they tripped lightly along under 
 their burdens, while I found it hard work. At first I could 
 go ten or fifteen minutes without resting ; but after an hour 
 or so I had to stop every five, or six yards, throw myself on 
 the ground and recruit. Though nearly " tired to death," 
 as boys say, yet in an astonishingly short space of time the 
 fatigue would vanish. Here the surface was volcanic sand 
 — beaten hard by the wind, apparently — and a good road 
 to travel on. There were fragments of lava — " slag " and 
 " scoriae " — scattered over the ground. Some of these I 
 started down the mountain, but they were so rotten that 
 they broke into pieces before rolling a hundred yards. We 
 were getting between two and three thousand feet high, 
 nearly half way up the mountain ; and yet vegetation had 
 not entirely ceased. Now and then, we could see a bit of 
 grass, and sometimes a very small plant. One tiny, yellow 
 flower, not bigger than a gold dollar, I gathered and put in 
 my pocket-book ; and it proved to be the last flower that I 
 saw in going up. While stopping to rest, I found I had fre- 
 quent recourse to a certain glass thing that I carried — 
 'vulgo vocato, a " pocket pistol " — but what it was charged 
 with is nothing to nobody ! After about two hours hard 
 climbing, we arrived at the top of an eminence where I had 
 hoped we should at least see the summit of the moifntain, 
 and that not far off; but we were yet a long distance from 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 137 
 
 it; hills peeping o'er hills, and one peak rising above an- 
 other. The weather was beautiful ; and, far to the west, we 
 could see the rivers with their green valleys, and beyond 
 them the snow-covered jokulls of the far north. To the 
 south we could see the Atlantic, though more than thirty 
 miles distant. But we must climb, and up, up we go. I 
 noticed here and there, among the dark-colored lava and 
 sand, a white-looking boulder, bearing evident marks of 
 fire ; some the size of a cannon-shot, and some that would 
 weigh nearly half a ton. They were not granite, neither 
 were they chalk; but I could not break them or carry 
 away a specimen ; so I had to be content with knowing 
 they were not ordinary lava, but still something that must 
 have been thrown out of the volcano. Our ascent grew 
 less precipitous, and we veered to the left, not going 
 directly towards the summit At the height of about 4,000 
 feet, we first struck the snow. This was the first snow I 
 had trod since arriving in Iceland ; and, as if the whole or- 
 der of nature must be reversed here, this snow was black. 
 This was not exactly the natural color, but a complexion it 
 had assumed from being so near the mouth of the volcano. 
 Sand, ashes, dust, and smoke had coated and begrimed 
 it so thoroughly that the whole surface was like fine char- 
 coal. A long valley was filled with it. As near as I could 
 judge, it was from five to fifty feet deep. We passed over 
 several snow-banks that were many hundred yards in 
 breadth, some of which had not lost their white color. 
 From the level country in the distance, these snow-banks 
 looked like mere patches, but here we found some of them 
 1 
 
138 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 nearly a quarter of a mile across. We ascended the mount- 
 ain from the west, but now we were north of the summit, 
 and where most of the snow lay. Clouds now gathered 
 round us, and we had to grope our way in the fog for 
 some time. The ascent grew more precipitous, and the 
 climbing was exceedingly toilsome. The earth and lava 
 now appeared of a red color. We seemed to be approach- 
 ing the region of fire. Sulphurous fumes saluted our nos- 
 trils ; the weather cleared a little, and, suddenly, before us 
 yawned a deep crater. What a horrible chasm ! Indeed, 
 it seemed like hell itself. Fire and brimstone literally. 
 Dark, curling smoke, yellow sulphur, and red cinders, ap- 
 pearing on every side of it. The crater was funnel-shaped, 
 about 150 feet deep, and about the same distance across 
 at the top. This was one of four craters where the fire 
 burst out in 1845. After the eruption, they had caved in, 
 and remained as we now saw them. In a row above this 
 one, extending towards the top of the mountain, were three 
 other craters, all similar in appearance. 
 
 Our progress now was one of great danger. At our 
 left was the north side of the mountain ; and for a long dis- 
 tance it was a perpendicular wajl, dropping off more than a 
 thousand feet below us. A large stone thrown over, never 
 sent back an echo. The craters were on our right, and 
 between these and the precipice on our left we threaded a 
 narrow ridge of sand, not wider than a common foot-path. 
 A more awful scene, or a more dangerous place I hope 
 never to be in. Had it not been for my long staff, I never 
 could have proceeded. The dangers and terrors of the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 139 
 
 scene were greatly increased by the clouds and cold wind 
 that came up on our left, and the smoke and sulphur- 
 ous stench that rose from the craters on our right. One 
 moment in danger of falling over the perpendicular side of 
 the mountain on the one hand, and the next of being swal- 
 lowed up in the burning crater on the other. Our path 
 was exceedingly steep, and for nearly a quarter of a mile 
 we pursued it with slow and cautious steps. Old Nero 
 saw the danger, and set up a dismal howl. A few mo- 
 ments after, he slipped, and came near falling into the fiery 
 pit. In five minutes, an animal or a man would have been 
 baked to a cinder. Pursuing our way by the four craters, 
 our path widened, and half an hour more brought us to 
 the top of the mountain. Our purpose was accomplished ; 
 we stood on the summit of Mount Hekla, and a toilsome 
 journey it had been for us. I threw myself on the ground, 
 and took a look at the scene before me. The top of the 
 mountain was not a peak, but broad and nearly flat, with 
 here and there a little irregularity of surface. It was about 
 a quarter of a mile across in one direction — from west to 
 east — and some fifty rods the other way. In several places 
 were deep snow-banks, but as yet we saw no crater on the 
 summit. 
 
 It was now two o'clock, it having taken us about eight 
 hours to make the ascent. Though we saw no crater, we 
 had very direct evidence that we were in close proximity 
 to volcanic fires. Little eminences of lava stood up around 
 us, from which smoke issued ; and the ground under our feet 
 felt warm. On removing the earth to the depth of two or 
 
140 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 three inches, it felt hot ; and on digging down anywhere to 
 the depth of six inches, smoke would burst out. Six inches 
 deeper, and no doubt a man might light a segar. I went 
 close to a bank of snow — to have something to cool my 
 punch — spread out my tartan plaid on a warm piece of lava, 
 opened my knapsack, sat down and dined. That was the 
 loftiest dinner I had ever partaken. I had nearly a bottle 
 of claret left, and a small drop of something stronger. The 
 guides had a bottle of milk, the snow did the cooling, and 
 I made a capital lot of milk punch. I drank several toasts ; 
 gave " the good health of all creation," toasted " the girl I 
 left behind me," and " a health to all good fellows." Yes, 
 and I thought, too, of my friends far, far away ; and the 
 distance I had traveled, and must travel again before I 
 could see them. In that half hour — in that dinner on Hek- 
 la's smoking summit, I seemed to enjoy a sociality in the 
 thought of friends and home, that I would not suppose a 
 communion with one's thoughts in solitude would bring. 
 Nero lay at my feet, the guides were conversing at a little 
 distance, the lava around me was warm ; and after a little 
 time the weather cleared up, and left a blue sky and clear 
 atmosphere, with a full opportunity to survey the won- 
 drous panorama of nature that lay spread out below and 
 around us. 
 
 A little way to the east was a slight elevation. To 
 this I directed my steps. Here I stood on the highest 
 summit of Mount Hekla. A more magnificent prospect 
 was never seen. Iceland was spread below and around me 
 like a map. We were more than six thousand feet above 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 141 
 
 the level of the sea, and higher than the tops of nearly 
 every mountain in Iceland. To the west and northwest 
 were vast green tracts of meadow land, checkered with 
 hills and surrounded by mountains. White, shining rivers 
 intersected the valleys and plains like long silver ribbons. 
 Far in the north, and to the northeast, were the snowy 
 mountains, not in peaks, but stretching away in immense 
 plains of brilliant white, and glistening in the sunshine. 
 
 In a valley, some twenty miles to the northwest, was a 
 beautiful cluster of lakes, the water often of a deep, green 
 color as they reflected the meadows on their banks. Now 
 and then in the landscape would appear the Iceland " for- 
 ests," like patches of shrubbery of a dark green hue. Some 
 hills and old lava districts were covered with heath, now in 
 full bloom, and clothing the land in a robe of purple. The 
 surface of Hekla itself, and the ground on every side, some 
 distance from the base, was one black mass of lava. To the 
 northwest, and near at hand, rising abruptly from the plain 
 to the height of 2,500 feet, was Bjolfell, a bold and singu- 
 lar-looking mountain. A dark cloud lay in the southeast 
 intercepting the view, but on every other side the sky was 
 clear and the prospect uninterrupted. To the south, far out 
 to sea — distant about forty miles — were the Westmann 
 Islands, rising abruptly out of the water to the height of 
 more than 2,000 feet, and showing their basaltic cliffs in a 
 clearly-defined outline. Cities, villages, and human habita- 
 tions filled no part of the landscape. The magical purity 
 of the atmosphere, and the singular character of this vol- 
 canic country, make a view from the top of Mount Hekla 
 
142 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 one of the most extensive and varied of any on the earth's 
 surface.* The view from this mountain must extend more 
 than 200 miles, showing a visible horizon of at least 1,500 
 miles in circuit. Most fortunately the day was beautifully 
 clear; and, after the first half hour on the summit — except a 
 bank of clouds in the east — the whole country was visible. 
 To the northeast, seemingly quite below us, in the valley of 
 the river Tungna, was a landscape of tiny streams, little 
 lakes, green meadows, and heath-clad hills. One small 
 lake — the Grcenavatn (green lake) — was shaped like the 
 moon when nearly full, and looked scarcely larger than a 
 saucer. The mountains to the south, the lofty Tindfjalla 
 and Eyjafjalla Jokulls, rose up in separate knobs or peaks, 
 the latter justifying its name of " mountain of islands." 
 
 I thought I never should tire of contemplating the 
 varied scene around me. 
 
 " Though sluggards deem it but a foolish chase, 
 And marvel men should quit their easy chair, 
 The toilsome way, and long, long league to trace, 
 Oh ! there is sweetness in the mountain air, 
 And life that bloated ease can never hope to share." 
 
 Time sped too quickly. The day was fast wearing 
 away, and much yet remained to be seen on the mountain 
 
 * Since the above was written, the writer has ascended ^Etna in 
 Sicily, and Vesuvius in Italy. Though these countries are far 
 richer in natural productions, and abound in towns and cities, and 
 the bay of Naples is proverbial for its beauty, yet he must say 
 that the view from Mount Hekla is far more varied and beautiful 
 on account of the clearness of the atmosphere, and the variety 
 of the mountain, valley, and island scenery. 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 143 
 
 top. As yet, I had observed no crater on the summit ; but 
 going to the top of a little elevation, about one hundred yards 
 from my dining table, it yawned before me. This was the 
 principal crater of the mountain, and larger than all the four 
 that we had seen on our way up. It was of very irregular 
 form, nearly a quarter of a mile in extent one way — a long 
 chasm some two or three hundred feet deep— and not over one 
 hundred yards wide. Some parts of the sides were perpen- 
 dicular, and smoke was coming out of fissures and crevices 
 in many places. There were several deep snow-banks in it ; 
 and though the entrance to a region of perpetual u fire and 
 brimstone," yet there has been no eruption from this crater 
 for ages. We rolled some stones down the steep side of 
 the crater, that crashed and thundered to the bottom, and 
 were lost in a vast cloud of smoke. The guides now did 
 nothing without urging ; but I was determined, if possible, 
 to go down into the crater. We went to the east end of it, 
 where the descent was most gradual, and on a steep bank 
 of snow, by a process well known to boys as " sliding down 
 hill," we soon found ourselves at the bottom. Rather a 
 risky place, inside of Hekla's burning crater ; but if the lava 
 and smoke proved too warm friends, we could cool off by 
 jumping into a snow-bank. 
 
 We went through every part of this wonderful pit, now 
 holding our hands in a stream of warm smoke, and again 
 clambering over rocks, and standing under arches of snow. 
 The ground under our feet was principally moist earth ; 
 the sides of the crater, rock-lava, and in many places loose 
 slags and scoria?. One most remarkable basaltic rock lay 
 
144 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 near the center of the crater. It was spherical, nearly as 
 round as a cannon-ball, and about twenty or twenty-five 
 feet in diameter. t It lay, apparently, entirely on the sur- 
 face of the ground, and though of compact and solid struc- 
 ture, there were small cracks all over it, from the twentieth 
 of an inch to a quarter of an inch across. Out of these cracks, 
 on every side of the rock, smoke and hot steam constantly 
 issued. The ground all round it was moist earth and vol- 
 canic sand, and showed few signs of heat. Not ten feet from 
 this rock was an abrupt bank of snow, at least twenty feet deep. 
 In one place under it was a crevice in the lava, where the heat 
 came out ; and it had melted away the snow, forming a 
 beautiful arch some ten feet high. We walked under it, 
 and found streams of clear water running from the snow. 
 At these pure fountains we filled some of our empty bot- 
 tles. For the benefit of any future travelers here, I will 
 mention, that had it not been for my own curiosity and per- 
 severance, I never should have gone into this crater, or even 
 have seen it at all. My mountain guide, the farmer of 
 Noefrholt, seemed to think his duty performed after we 
 were once on top of the mountain. I hunted up the crater, 
 quite out of sight from where we arrived on the broad sum- 
 mit of the mountain, went to the brink, and then insisted 
 on descending into it. After getting down to the bottom 
 of the crater, a way selected entirely by myself, he very 
 coolly informed me that he had a short time before gone 
 down into it with some Danish gentlemen. After I had 
 satisfied my curiosity in varied explorations, the guide pro- 
 posed a place for our exit on the west, but where, I am sure, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 145 
 
 had we attempted an ascent, we should have broken our 
 necks. As we could not well slide up the hill where we 
 had slid den down, I proposed an egress just to the north of 
 our enormous smoking boulder ; and it was so terribly steep 
 that I thought we should inevitably tumble back into the 
 crater after we were nearly to the top. " Festus" while 
 traveling with Lucifer, says, 
 
 "Let us ascend, but not through the charred throat 
 Of an extinct volcano." 
 
 Not so with us : we did come straight out of such a 
 " charred throat." We emerged from our warm pit, di- 
 rectly on the north edge of the mountain, where it fell off a 
 vast distance in one perpendicular crag. There's a kind of 
 fearful pleasure in gazing from a mountain's craggy summit. 
 
 "And there's a courage which grows out of fear, 
 Perhaps of all most desperate, which will dare 
 
 The worst to know it : — when the mountains rear 
 Their peaks beneath your human foot, and there 
 
 You look down o'er the precipice, and drear 
 The gulf of rock yawns, — you can't gaze a minute, 
 Without an awful wish to plunge within it." 
 
 The little green lake lay in its nest like a drop of water, 
 some ten miles away, and the majestic Bjolfell reared its 
 black form in solemn state nearly half as high as Hekla 
 itself. We walked clear round the crater, and came to a 
 deep, broad crack in the lava, that we had to leap across, 
 and then returned to the place of our ascent, crossing a 
 broad field of snow. 
 
146 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 This snow was many years old, and from five to thirty 
 or forty feet deep; and in several places heat came from the 
 mountain, and melted it out in a great hole — the shape of 
 an inverted potash-kettle. I thrust my pike into the snow ; 
 and on withdrawing it, it showed that deep blue tint which 
 I had supposed was only seen in new snow. Having gath- 
 ered samples of all the lavas that I had seen, and loaded 
 the guides with them, we prepared to descend. Our last 
 six hours of the upward journey, in going back, was per- 
 formed in two hours. Perhaps the loads of lava that the 
 guides carried, increased their speed, urging them along in 
 their down-hill course. The narrow pathway between the 
 craters and the north brink of the mountain, we found far 
 less dangerous on returning, as the weather was clear and 
 the wind had gone down. When we came to the steep, 
 sandy side of the mountain, it would be safe to believe that 
 we went down pretty middling fast. Perhaps we didn't 
 run, exactly, but it was a specimen of rather tall walking. 
 
 About half way down, I drank the last drop of , the 
 
 contents of my pocket-flask. "Farewell, thou lingering 
 sweetness !" Our horses — condemned to fast or eat lava — 
 had gone round a few circles, circumnavigating one another 
 by chasing their tails ; but they had not journeyed far. 
 Leading them from the table-land down the steep accliv- 
 ity, we mounted : their hunger gave them speed ; and 
 after a sharp gallop, we arrived at the farm-house about 
 ten o'clock, a little before sunset, having escaped the dan- 
 gers, and enjoyed the novelty of the loftiest journeying I 
 had spent in all my travels. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Fire that art slumbering there, 
 
 Like some stern warrior in his rocky fort, 
 
 After the vast invasion of the world ] 
 
 Hast not some flaming imp or messenger 
 
 Of empyrean element, to whom 
 
 In virtue of his nature are both known 
 
 The secrets of the burning, central void below, 
 
 And yon bright heaven, out of whose aery fire 
 
 Are wrought the forms of angels and the thrones? 
 
 Festus. 
 
 Volcanic eruptions in Iceland have presented some 
 remarkable features. There are volcanoes that are much 
 higher than any in this country ; but, in the amount of lava 
 thrown out at one time, no eruption on record ever equaled 
 that of Skaptar Jokull in 1783. A notice of this may not 
 be considered out of place. In May, about a month before 
 this eruption, a volcano rose up from the bottom of the sea, 
 over seventy miles from land, to the southwest of Cape 
 Reykianes, and more than a hundred and fifty miles from 
 Skaptar Jokull. This was one of the most remarkable sub- 
 marine eruptions ever recorded. It formed a large island, 
 and ejected vast quantities of pumice, a light, volcanic sub- 
 stance that floated on the surface of the water. It covered 
 the sea for more than a hundred and fifty miles, and in 
 such immense quantities that ships were detained in their 
 
148 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 progress while sailing along the coast. The sea-birds 
 paused and screamed in their wheeling flight, and the more 
 adventurous took a ride on a new volcanic raft. His 
 Danish Majesty, on hearing of a creation of new territory 
 near his ancient possession of Iceland, sent a ship with or- 
 ders for its immediate annexation. The commander took 
 formal possession of it in the name of the king. But the end 
 was not yet. The flag of Denmark had not waved above 
 it for a twelve-month, before it sunk back into the ocean 
 and disappeared forever. Soon after this eruption in the 
 sea — from the first to the eighth of June — violent earth- 
 quakes were experienced in the vicinity of Skaptar Jokull, 
 and clouds of smoke obscured the sun for some days. It 
 was often so dark in the middle of the day, that a sheet of 
 white paper could not be seen when held up before the 
 eyes. An immense shower of ashes, sand, and sulphur 
 filled the air, and completely covered the land. It poisoned 
 the vegetation, destroying every green thing where it fell. 
 Fortunately the wind carried it to the south, and it soon 
 reached the ocean. Incredible as it may seem, this shower 
 of ashes and sulphur was borne over the Northern Sea to 
 the Faroe Isles, Shetland and Orkney, entirely over Great 
 Britain, across to Holland, and far on to the continent of 
 Europe, nearly two thousand miles from the place where it 
 started. Around the mountain, for many miles, darting 
 flames and lightning filled the air, and the sulphur flashed and 
 burned far up into the heavens. The next effect produced, was 
 the heat of the volcano melting the ice that had shrouded 
 it for centuries ; and this caused such a deluge, that the 
 
H AMBLES IN ICELAND. 149 
 
 ivers, particularly the Skapta, overflowed their banks, and 
 submerged, washed up, and even carried away farms. On the 
 10th of June, ten days after the first symptoms of an erup- 
 tion appeared, the torrent of lava burst forth, and poured 
 down the side of the mountain. This followed so quickly 
 after the flood of water, that in less than twenty-four hours 
 the river was entirely dried up, and people walked across 
 its bed, where, for years, it had only been passable in boats. 
 While the fire was contending with the water, a terrible 
 and deafening, roaring sound was heard, and immense quan- 
 tities of steam filled the air. The fiery torrent poured 
 down the bed of the river, often from 400 to 600 feet 
 deep, and over two hundred in breadth. Lightning 
 flashed through the heavens, thunder and concussions of 
 the earth were constantly heard and felt, and the volcano 
 kept up a continued and terrible roaring. In its course 
 down the bed of the river, the lava came to an immense 
 chasm or pit, into which for many hours it poured with a 
 deafening noise. The stream of lava flowed first south, 
 then east, destroying farms, houses, and churches, and 
 burning up the thickets of wood near Kirkubcer. Often 
 great chasms in the earth would get filled with the melted 
 lava, and then, as it cooled on top, the heat below would 
 cause it to explode, and blow large masses of it high in the 
 air. For three months the lava^continued to flow, but it was 
 not until the next February that the mountain ceased throw- 
 ing out ashes, sand, flames, and hot stones. The effects of 
 this eruption were more terrible than any thing of the 
 kind that ever happened in Iceland. The showers of ashes, 
 
150 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 sand, and sulphur, completely destroyed every green thing 
 for a long distance. Another most singular effect of this 
 eruption, extended to the ocean. The fish that had always 
 frequented the coast, were entirely driven away, and never 
 returned. A terrible famine ensued. Within two years, 
 over 190,000 sheep, 28,000 horses, and 11,000 cattle, died 
 of starvation. About 10,000 inhabitants — one-fifth of the 
 entire population of the island — perished from want and 
 exposure. The amount of lava ejected from this volcano 
 was probably greater than that of any eruption of the same 
 duration, ever recorded. It covered a tract of country 500 
 square miles in extent ; and had it lain of equal thickness 
 over the entire surface, would have been over 300 feet deep. 
 The lava would have filled the channels of fifty rivers as 
 large as the Hudson from Albany to New York. 
 
 It is said that the personal appearance of a certain 
 quadruped does not give an unfailing indication of the 
 distance he can jump. This can scarcely be true of 
 Skaptar Jokull. If size is an indication of power, the 
 vast magnitude of this mountain would seem to show that 
 its eruptions would be terrible. It is over one hundred 
 miles in diameter at the base, and more than three hundred 
 and thirty in circumference. The most of it is wrapped 
 in a pall of eternal snow, and centuries sometimes elapse 
 without an eruption. Inaccessible, except in some places 
 around the edges, it appears from different points of view 
 like several distinct mountains ; and in different parts it 
 goes by different names. On the west, it is known as 
 Skaptar Jokull ; and on this side the great eruption 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 151 
 
 occurred. On the south, it is called Orsefa Jokull ; and at 
 this point it is the highest mountain in Iceland, being over 
 seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. Its vast 
 central surface, and aJl throughout jts northern boundary, 
 is known as Vatna Jokull or Klofa Jokull, and is supposed 
 to contain in its hollows large pools of standing water. 
 This particular account I had given me in a conversation 
 with Herre Biarni Gunnlaugson, the indefatigable Ice- 
 landic geographer, who traveled over every part of Iceland 
 for a period of twelve years. During this time, he saw the 
 entire country, and gathered the information and executed 
 the drawings for his most elaborate and valuable map of 
 the island. I can lay claim to some personal acquaintance 
 with Skaptar Jokull. Standing on the summit of Hekla, I 
 could look directly over nearly the entire surface of the 
 mountain. It does not rise from all sides to one peak in the 
 center, like iEtna, Stromboli, Hekla, and Vesuvius ; but to 
 the eye it presents the appearance of one vast, glittering plain 
 of snow. The few travelers who have ascended the jokulls 
 of Iceland, have described them as presenting immense 
 cracks in the snow and ice ; making their ascent more 
 dangerous, in proportion to their height, than probably any 
 other mountains in the world. The enormous bulk of 
 Skaptar Jokull may be imagined from one comparison. 
 Were it as steep and high in proportion to its breadth 
 of base, as the Peak of TenerirTe, its perpendicular height 
 would be more than ten miles above the level of the sea. 
 Next to this mountain and Hekla, the most noted in 
 Iceland are the Eyjafjalla and Tindfjalla Jokulls, in the 
 south, and Snaefell Jokull in the west. 
 
152 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 As an instance of the effects of volcanic eruptions, and 
 also of the inaccuracy of geographers respecting Iceland, 
 one fact may be mentioned. On nearly every English 
 or American map where Iceland is represented, there will 
 be noticed a large lake called the " Fiske Vatn," or Fish 
 Lake. There is not such a lake in existence, nor has not 
 been for many years. There was such a lake, long ago — 
 I have not the date, but think it was nearly a hundred 
 years since ; and a volcano rose up from the bottom, filled 
 its entire bed, and literally drank it up at a draught ! 
 Now there is no vestige of a lake in the vicinity ; but there 
 is a mountain, and I saw it. It lies between Hekla and 
 Skaptar Jokull, and goes by the name of Fiskivatnavegr, 
 or " Fish-lake-mountain." Nature works by general laws, 
 but this particular sample of its work seems to us rather 
 singular. Now, this is a geographical and historical fact, 
 and poetry can be quoted to prove things that are quite as 
 strange. Festus, in describing his tour in "giant-land," 
 related some of the customs of the inhabitants, and told 
 how they lived. 
 
 A wheat-stack here would but mate 
 
 One loaf of bread for them. Oak trees they use 
 As pickles, and tall pines as tooth-picks ; whales, 
 In their own blubber fried, serve as mere fish 
 To bait their appetites. Boiled elephants, 
 Rhinoceroses, and roasted crocodiles — 
 Every thing dished up whole — with lions stewed, 
 Shark sauce and eagle pie, and young giraffes, 
 Make up a pot-luck dinner, — if there's plenty. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 153 
 
 Student. And a3 to beverage ? 
 
 Festus. Oh ! if thirsty, they 
 
 Will lay them down and drink a river dry, 
 
 Nor once draw breath. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 * * When death takes place, 
 
 They burn the bodies always in a lake, 
 The spray whereof is ashes, and its depths 
 Unfathomable fire." 
 
 Now, either of these can be taken to prove the other, 
 The poetry is consistent, for it agrees, in all essential 
 particulars, with the natural phenomena in this case. 
 
 Mount Hekla has a greater celebrity than any other 
 mountain in Iceland, owing to the frequency of its 
 eruptions. All of these, for eight hundred and fifty years, 
 are said to be recorded, and amount to twenty-four in 
 number. They have averaged about three in a century; 
 and, though occurring at irregular intervals, at no time 
 has more than seventy-seven years elapsed from one erup- 
 tion to another. The following are the periods of 
 
 THE ERUPTIONS OF MOUNT HEKLA SINCE THE YEAR 1000. 
 
 Interval between the eruptions. 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 3. 
 4. 
 5. 
 C. 
 
 A. D. 1004 
 
 
 " 1029 
 
 25 years 
 
 " 1105 
 
 16 " 
 
 " 1113 
 
 8 " 
 
 " 1157 
 
 44 " 
 
 " 1206 
 
 49 " 
 
154 
 
 RAMBLES IX ICELAND. 
 
 7. 
 
 . A. D 
 
 . 1222 
 
 
 16 
 
 years 
 
 8. 
 
 u 
 
 1294 
 
 
 72 
 
 u 
 
 9. 
 
 . u 
 
 1300 
 
 
 6 
 
 u 
 
 10. 
 
 u 
 
 1340 
 
 
 40 
 
 u 
 
 11. 
 
 u 
 
 1374 
 
 
 34 
 
 « 
 
 12. 
 
 « 
 
 1390 
 
 
 16 
 
 u 
 
 13. 
 
 u 
 
 1436 
 
 
 46 
 
 u 
 
 14. 
 
 a 
 
 1510 
 
 
 74 
 
 a 
 
 15. 
 
 a 
 
 1554 
 
 
 44 
 
 u 
 
 16. 
 
 a 
 
 1583 
 
 
 29 
 
 u 
 
 17. 
 
 u 
 
 1619 
 
 
 36 
 
 a 
 
 18. 
 
 u 
 
 1625 
 
 
 6 
 
 a 
 
 19. 
 
 u 
 
 1636 
 
 
 11 
 
 a 
 
 20. 
 
 u 
 
 1693 
 
 
 57 
 
 u 
 
 21. 
 
 u 
 
 1728 
 
 
 35 
 
 u 
 
 22. 
 
 u 
 
 1754 
 
 
 26 
 
 a 
 
 23. 
 
 il 
 
 1766- 
 
 68 
 
 12 
 
 a 
 
 24. 
 
 u 
 
 1845, 
 
 46 
 
 77 
 
 u 
 
 According to the Icelandic records, the surface of the 
 land in the vicinity of Mount Hekla has been entirely 
 changed by the eruptions. Formerly, there were beautiful 
 farms on every side, and the country was thickly settled 
 close up to the base of the mountain. The successive 
 eruptions or inundations of lava have covered the land 
 for many miles around, with a charred and blackened 
 mass. 
 
 The Icelanders are much more devoted to history and 
 poetry than to exact science ; and on this account the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 155 
 
 various eruptions of their volcanoes, and other remarkable 
 natural phenomena, have received much less attention, 
 and been recorded with far less accuracy and minuteness, 
 than historical events. Owing to this, we have not as many 
 records of their volcanoes, spoutings prings, and submarine 
 eruptions, as would be desirable. Had we a more 
 extended series of facts, much that now seems irregular 
 and mysterious, could be reduced to system. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 I've traversed many a mountain strand, 
 Abroad and in my native land, 
 And it bath been my lot to tread, 
 Where safety more than pleasure led; 
 Thus many a waste I've wandered o'er, 
 Clomb many a crag, crossed many a moor ; 
 
 But, by my halidome, 
 A scene so rude, so wild as this, 
 It ne'er hath been my lot to pass, 
 
 Where'er I happ'd to roam. 
 
 Scott. 
 
 After our sojourn of two days in explorations of Mount 
 Hekla, we took leave of the farmer of Ncefrholt and his 
 family, and traveled towards the southwest coast, the Rey- 
 kir Springs, and the Sulphur Mountains. There are some 
 pleasing and original customs among the Icelanders ; and 
 with these are their ways of saluting, at meeting and part- 
 ing. Young and old, male and female, have the same 
 affectionate greeting and parting compliments. They first 
 shake hands, then embrace with arms about each other's 
 necks, and then bring their lips in close contact. I have 
 sometimes fancied, when they took their faces apart, that I 
 could hear a slight clicking sound ; but this might have 
 been imagination. When I have been kindly entertained 
 at a house, and especially if there have been one or two 
 

 . RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 157 
 
 pretty girls in the family, I have at parting adopted the same 
 kind of salute. Some of these compliments came off at the 
 base of Mount HeMa on the morning of July 30th. This 
 day I had a charming ride. Our road for some distance 
 lay through a wood, and I have before spoken of the stately 
 grandeur of an Iceland forest. In addition to the usual 
 birch and willow trees, some of which were a little higher 
 than our horses' backs, %th ere were many bearing a small 
 berry — the " blue berry " they called it ; and this is the 
 only thing of the fruit kind in all Iceland. They are eaten 
 by the natives, usually with milk or cream, and wherever 
 they are found are highly prized. I have tasted them, but 
 they seem almost destitute of flavor. It takes a hot sun to 
 give flavor to fruit, and old Sol does not give much of his 
 caloric to this country. What would these northern peo- 
 ple think of a luscious peach, just as it is picked from a 
 tree in New Jersey ? One species of rose is found in Ice- 
 land — the Rosa Hibernica ; and I suppose they (the roses) 
 hardly know the difference between Iceland and Ireland. 
 I have frequently observed these rose bushes here, but I 
 have never yet seen them in flower. A rose in Iceland 
 would be a sight. You might as well expect to see 
 
 " Roses in December, ice in June." 
 
 Here, too, we found that most beautiful of all the shrubs 
 and flowers of Iceland, the fragrant heath. It is very plen- 
 tiful, and of the same species so common in the Highlands 
 of Scotland. Here it is of small size, seldom more than a 
 foot in height. It is one of the first vegetables found grow- 
 
158 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. * 
 
 ing on the lava beds. It seems to grow on a medium soil 
 between the naked barren lava and the fertile meadows. 
 Nearly one half of Iceland is covered with heath, and some 
 day it may be fertile enough to produce grass. I have 
 been told more than once that this beautiful shrub will not 
 grow in North America, but I cannot believe it. In 
 Europe and the northern isles, and Africa and Madeira* 
 there are over a hundred different varieties of heath. Why 
 will not some horticulturists rear a good variety, and try 
 them from various climes, Madeira, Scotland, and Iceland, 
 and get some of them naturalized with us in America, that 
 they might cover our barren hills and waysides, and adorn 
 our gardens and fields ? The heath and the ivy — two plants 
 almost unknown in America — are more beautiful and do 
 more in Great Britain to cover up and adorn barren hills 
 and old walls and ruins than all other vegetation, and yet 
 they are rarely seen with us. I have been told, however, 
 that the late lamented Mr. Downing has planted and natu- 
 ralized the beautiful evergreen ivy, obtaining it from Eng- 
 land. Let gardeners and farmers blush or boast, neither 
 nature nor cultivation has adorned our hills with one nor ten 
 plants that look half so beautiful as the blooming heather 
 that covers the hills of far-off northern Iceland. The same 
 species that grows here, I have seen in the Orkney and 
 Shetland Islands, the Hebrides, the Highlands and Low- 
 lands of Scotland, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Hol- 
 stein, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. It also grows in 
 Africa, as far south as the Cape of Good Hope, the Cape 
 heaths forming the most beautiful varieties of floral contri- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 159 
 
 butions that are seen at the splendid Chiswick flower-shows 
 in London. Wilkes, in his Exploring Expedition, describes 
 and pictures the forests of heath in Madeira, the trees 
 nearly or quite a foot in diameter, and forty or fifty feet in 
 height. I have an idea of offering a prize for the most 
 beautiful variety of heath that will flourish in the open air 
 in our Northern States, and then I think I will import some 
 Iceland heath, and carry off the reward myself ! Perhaps 
 some of our horticultural societies will take the hint, go to 
 work, and get it all done before I get back to America. 
 Leaving Ncefrholt, we took our back track as far as Skarth, 
 where I had stayed all night, and slept in the church a 
 few days before. The farmer seemed glad to see me, gave 
 me " a grip of his flipper," and a fine bowl of milk. I re- 
 turned the grip, gave him a piece of silver, mounted my 
 horse, and off we galloped to the southwest. If the world 
 was not " all before us where to choose," all Iceland was, 
 and on we journeyed. Some hours' travel brought us to 
 the banks of the Thiorsa, and we prepared to face its turbu- 
 lent and mighty current. Any one who supposes that that 
 little white spot in the Arctic sea, called Iceland, cannot 
 produce a river worthy of the name, had better try to swim 
 across this one. I should far rather breast the Hellespont, 
 and follow Leander. Larger than the Hudson at New- 
 burgh, swift as an arrow, white with clay from the mount- 
 ains, and cold as ice, — really it is the most formidable stream 
 in appearance that I have ever seen. But we had ferried it 
 once, and could again ; and a frail skiff put off from the 
 opposite shore to take us across. The only ferryman was a 
 
160 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 small boy, and so I manned one oar myself. The guide sat 
 in the stern of the boat, and led the horses as they swam 
 after us. The boy could not row evenly with me ; the cur- 
 rent bore us furiously down the stream ; the boat leaked 
 badly ; and, by the time we were in the middle of the river, 
 the horses got unmanageable, nearly upset our frail craft, 
 and finally broke loose altogether, and floated and swam 
 down the stream, the tips of their noses and their ears just 
 out of water. We let the horses go, and rowed like good 
 fellows, and landed on the west side of the river, but a good 
 long way farther down than the point opposite where we 
 started. The poor ponies followed the boat as well as 
 they could, and after a while all came ashore, some in one 
 place, and some in another. We now traveled directly 
 down the Thiorsa, towards the south coast, bordering the 
 Atlantic. We had a fine journey through the valley of this 
 great river. There was no crossing except at the ferries ; 
 but the fine farming region, and a wish to get a near view 
 of the Westmann Islands, and, if possible, visit them, in- 
 duced me to make a long and circuitous journey on the 
 southern coast. The weather was clear and fine, and Hekla, 
 and the Eyjafjalla and Tindfjalla Jokulls stood up in bold 
 relief against the eastern sky. The Eyj afjalla Jokull, as its 
 name imports — Mountainof Islands — shows, on its broad, 
 sloping summit, several knobs that stand up like islands. 
 Near the top, where it inclines towards the west, I could 
 see a broad, deep chasm, filled with snow. This pit must be 
 of immense depth, for while it is nearly filled with snow it 
 is plainly visible for over thirty miles. On the more even 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 161 
 
 summit of the Tindfjalla Jokull, there are several little ele- 
 vations like islands or miniature mountains. Hekla looks 
 black, clear to the summit, except now and then a small 
 spot of snow. I do not know where those writers get 
 their information from, regarding this mountain, when they 
 speak of the " three-coned Hekla." From different points 
 of compass, including nearly every position whence Hekla 
 can be seen, and also from a sojourn on its summit, I must 
 say that I have never seen three cones, nor even two. From 
 all sides, the highest point rises in one single cone, like the 
 profiles of most other volcanoes. On arriving at the top, it 
 is rather broad and flat, as I have mentioned ; but this is not 
 observed from a distance. It is steeper than ^Etna, but not 
 so steep as Vesuvius. That old Madam Pfeiffer should 
 speak of Hekla as having three cones, and no crater at all, 
 is exactly in accordance with the most of her statements 
 about Iceland. Where she does not knowingly tell direct 
 falsehoods, the guesses she makes about those regions that 
 she does not visit — while stating that she does — show her to 
 be bad at guess-work, and poorly informed about the coun- 
 try. The valleys of the Hvita, the Thiorsa, and the Mar- 
 karfliot, south, southwest, and west of Hekla, comprise the 
 largest tract of grass land in all Iceland. A large share of 
 it is in cultivated farms, and the rest is bog. In drawing 
 near to the coast, how magnificent the Westmann Islands 
 appear ! Rising up like columns, they stand from one to two 
 thousand feet above the ocean. Formed of perpendicular, 
 basaltic rocks, these and other islands of the north of 
 Europe rank with the most splendid coast-scenery in the 
 8 
 
162 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 world. The Westmann Islands are most difficult to 
 approach. The place of landing is so treacherous, that un- 
 less the weather is calm and the sea very still, a landing 
 cannot be effected. A high cascade on the main land of 
 Iceland, near the town of Holt, is a sort of weatherometer 
 that decides whether a boat can put off with a prospect of 
 gaining the island. This cascade is one long stream of 
 spray, formed by a small brook falling a height of 800 feet. 
 In windy weather, the spray is blown entirely away, so that 
 from the landing no cascade is in sight. If it is still enough 
 for this cascade to appear constantly two days in succes- 
 sion, then the sea is usually calm enough to allow boats to 
 land, and they venture out. In the winter, it sometimes 
 happens that for weeks no boats can pass between the, 
 islands and the main shore. 
 
 The Westmann Islands — Icelandic, Vestmannaeyjar — 
 were settled by a colony of Irish slaves, in 875, one year 
 after the first settlement of Iceland. A Norwegian pirate 
 cruising in the Atlantic, came upon the coast of Ireland, 
 landed, and captured forty or fifty persons, men, women, 
 and children, and carried them off as slaves. Before 
 he got home, they rose on their captors, slew them, and 
 went ashore at the first land they met. This was on 
 the largest of the Westmann Islands; that name being 
 given them by the Icelanders, as these people came from 
 the west. Christianity came here with these Irish people ; 
 and to this day, crosses, croziers, and other articles of a like 
 nature are dug up on the island, and were undoubtedly 
 carried here by the first settlers. The islands are fourteen 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 163 
 
 in number ; but only four of them produce any vegetation 
 or pasturage, and of these only one is inhabited. This 
 is very appropriately called Heimaey or Home Island. 
 This is fifteen miles from the coast, and forty-five from 
 Hekla. On this island is a harbor, partly encircled by 
 a high, perpendicular rock. Here they land and embark 
 in boats. A precipitous path leads to the top of the island, 
 where the people, with their habitations, a few sheep, and 
 their little church, remain two thousand feet above the 
 ocean. The islands are basaltic, like Fingal's Cave and the 
 Giant's Causeway ; but, instead of being one or two 
 hundred feet in height, rise like immense columns, nearly 
 half a mile above the sea. The inhabitants draw their 
 entire subsistence from the ocean and the cliffs, catching 
 codfish and killing sea-birds, myriads of which haunt 
 the rocks of their sea-girt shores. The sea-fowl furnish 
 large quantities of feathers. Some of the birds are used for 
 food, and some for fuel. They split them open, dry them, 
 and then burn them, feathers and all. From the accounts 
 given of this novel sort of firewood, the odor rising from it 
 must be " most tolerable, and not to be endured " ! The 
 birds most used for food are young puffins — the Fratercula 
 arciica — a rather small sea-bird, with a bill shaped like a 
 short, thick plow coulter. In England and Scotland, they 
 are called the coulter neb puffin. This beak is a most 
 wonderful one, large to deformity — nearly as bulky as all 
 the rest of the bird's head. There are several circular 
 marks entirely round it, making it look like a small barrel 
 with the hoops on it. But do not these hardy islanders 
 
164 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 show skill and daring in the pursuit of birds and eggs 
 for subsistence ? Wonder how the Yankees would take 
 the birds ? Shoot them with rifles, I suppose, " knocking 
 their daylights out," one at a time. But these islanders 
 do not take this slow method — not they. In the egg 
 season they go to the top of the cliffs, and, putting a rope 
 round a man's waist, let him down the side of the perpen- 
 dicular rock, one, two, or three hundred feet; and on 
 arriving at the long, narrow, horizontal shelves, he proceeds 
 to fill a large bag with the brittle treasures deposited 
 by the birds. Getting his bag full, he and his eggs 
 are drawn to the top by his companions. If the rope 
 breaks, or is cut off by the sharp corners of the rocks, 
 the luckless duck-egging fowler is precipitated to the 
 bottom, perhaps two thousand feet into the sea, or is 
 dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Accidents happen 
 but rarely, and here these hardy men glean a scanty 
 subsistence. At a later period in the season, they go and 
 get the young birds. 
 
 If the old birds object, they are ready for them, and 
 serve them sailor fashion, knocking them down with a 
 handspike. The old often fight desperately for their 
 young, and will not give up till their necks are broken or 
 their brains knocked out with a club. Where the cliffs are 
 not accessible from the top, they go round the bottom 
 in boats, and show a wonderful agility and daring in 
 climbing the most terrible precipices. They furnish 
 nothing for export on these islands, except dried and salted 
 codfish and feathers. With these they procure their few 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 165 
 
 necessaries and luxuries, consisting principally of clothing, 
 tobacco and snuff, spirits, fish-hooks and lines, and salt. 
 The habit of living entirely on fish and sea-fowl produces 
 a disease among them, that carries off* all their children 
 before they are seven years of age. I am told that unless 
 they are taken to the main shore to be brought up, not one 
 single one would live through childhood. Some well- 
 informed Icelanders have told me that the inhabitants 
 of the Westmann Islands would live as well, and be as free 
 from disease, as the natives of Iceland, were it not for their 
 intemperance. Give a people few or no luxuries — bread 
 and vegetables as food being almost unknown — and expose 
 them to great fatigue, wet, cold, and danger ; and would we 
 not suppose ardent spirits would be acceptable ? The 
 inhabitants of the far-off St. Kilda, the most western of the 
 Western Isles of Scotland, are said to lose all their children 
 that are kept on the island, and from the same causes that 
 occasion the mortality on the Westmann Islands. These 
 islands form a separate Syssel or county, and they have a 
 church, and usually two clergymen. Their church was 
 rebuilt of stone, at the expense of the Danish government, 
 in 1774, and is said to be one of the best in Iceland. 
 It is supported by tithes, still raised here according to the 
 Norwegian mode. Christianity was brought here with the 
 first settlers from Ireland, and here it still remains ; and I 
 have sometimes wondered if, during the changes of a 
 thousand years, any of the brogue of the Tipperary boys, 
 or the lads of Connaught, could be discerned in their 
 conversation. Probably it has all been frozen up, or 
 
166 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 exchanged for the more meliffluous tones of the followers of 
 Odin and Thor. 
 
 Doubly secure as these inhabitants are, by their poverty 
 and their almost inaccessible cliffs, one would suppose that 
 they would be secure from any warlike or piratical 
 depredations. Notwithstanding this, they have twice been 
 attacked and pillaged by sea-rovers. As early as the 
 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, piratical cruisers — many 
 of them fitted out in the English and French ports — came 
 north ; and plunder, rapine, and murder desolated all the 
 western and southern coasts of Iceland. One English 
 pirate, named John, was noted for his success and daring. 
 He was called " Gentleman John," being probably, like the 
 Greek cruiser, 
 
 "the mildest manner'd man 
 
 That ever scuttled ship, or cut a throat 
 With all true breeding of a gentleman." 
 
 This courteous corsair came to the Westmann Islands 
 in 1614, pillaged the church, and carried off their sacred 
 relics. He probably knew the inhabitants were descendants 
 of the Hibernians, and only showed the spirit of an English- 
 man towards the Irish. He also plundered their houses, 
 and no doubt from the contents of their beds managed 
 to feather his own nest considerably. He returned to 
 Great Britain, but King James I. caught and punished 
 him, and with the true honesty of a Scotchman, returned 
 their church ornaments. In 1627, a vessel of Turkish or 
 Algerine pirates, after plundering several places on the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 167 
 
 eastern and southern coasts of Iceland, landed on the 
 Westmann Islands. They murdered between forty and 
 fifty of the inhabitants, plundered the church and set it on 
 fire, robbed the houses, carried off all the food, clothing, 
 and valuables, and then burnt their habitations. They 
 took near four hundred men, women, and children 
 prisoners, bound them in fetters, took them on board 
 their vessel, and carried them in captivity to Algiers. 
 There were two clergymen among them, one of whom, 
 Jon Thorsteinson, was murdered at the time. He was the 
 first translator of the Psalms of David into Icelandic verse. 
 He also translated the Book of Genesis, and some other 
 parts of the Bible, in a similar manner. He is spoken of in 
 Icelandic history as the " martyr." The other clergyman, 
 Olaf Egilson, with his wife and children, and the rest of the 
 prisoners, were sold into slavery in Algiers. 
 
 Mr. Egilson got away two years after, and wrote an 
 account of their sufferings and privations, which was 
 afterwards published in Danish. It was not until 1636, 
 nine years after their capture, that the unfortunate Ice- 
 landers were released, and then only by being ransomed by 
 the king of Denmark. Their treatment and sufferings can 
 be imagined ; only thirty-seven of the whole number 
 survived, and of these but thirteen persons lived to regain 
 their native island. Notwithstanding the sufferings, cala- 
 mities, and hardships of the people, the Westmann Islands 
 continue to be inhabited. 
 
 Since the earthquakes and great volcanic eruptions of 
 1783, the fish in the neighborhood of the Westmann 
 
168 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Islands, and all along the south coast of Iceland, have 
 nearly all disappeared, so that the principal dependence of 
 the inhabitants is on the sea-fowl. Besides the puffin, they 
 use for food the fulmar — Procellaria glacialis. For their 
 winter supply, they salt them very slightly, and pack them 
 down in barrels. I wonder how one of these poor mortals, 
 accustomed to so little variety, would relish such a dinner 
 as they serve up at the London Tavern, the Astor, or the 
 Revere House ! Thor and Epicurus ! He would probably 
 surfeit himself, unless it so happened that he could relish 
 none of their dishes, and refused to eat. 
 
 But my pony's head is turned towards the west, and I 
 am probably as near the Westmann Islands as I ever shall 
 be. The disappearing spray of the "Driving Cascade" 
 shows a rough and stormy coast ; so good-bye to the con- 
 tented islanders, their sea-girt cliffs, and their sea-bird food. 
 
CHAPTER X1Y 
 
 A merrier man, 
 
 Within the limits of becoming mirth, 
 I never spent an hour's talk withal. 
 
 SnAKSPEARE. 
 
 My ride along the banks of the Thiorsa, before my 
 detour to the south coast, near the Westmann Islands, was 
 a pleasant one. The little green, turf-covered hillocks — 
 not appearing much like houses, though they were so — 
 gave an air of solitude to the landscape, that but few civil- 
 ized countries possess. The air was vocal with birds, that 
 constantly flew about us. The mournful note of the plover, 
 and the wild scream of the curlew, were constantly heard, 
 as they rested on the signal-cairns by the way-side, or flew 
 away towards a thicket. These birds, as well as the ptar- 
 migan, are quite plentiful in Iceland, and all reckoned as 
 game-birds. 
 
 A man could travel through Iceland in the summer, 
 carrying a gun, a few loaves of bread, some tea, coffee, and 
 sugar, get plenty of milk and cream at the farmers' houses, 
 and shoot game enough for his meat, without once leaving 
 his horse. Some might not consider it a great luxury, 
 after a hard day's ride, to sit down to a banquet of roasted 
 raven, a fricasseed hawk, or a broiled sea-gull ; but it would 
 be quite as good as the buzzard soup that Prince Achille 
 
1*70 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Murat used to get in Florida. Some nice ptarmigan, or 
 plover, with a piece of a loaf, tea or coffee, and butter, 
 would make a feast that many a traveler would be glad to 
 have. Then, too, in the interior are large herds of wild rein- 
 deer, where a good marksman could select a nice piece of 
 venison. Henderson, the missionary, saw a large flock, 
 that approached quite near him before offering to retreat. 
 White and blue foxes, seals, and sometimes an importation 
 of white bears from Greenland, who not unfrequently float 
 over on fields of ice, might afford a little sport, and per- 
 haps profit, but would be rather tough eating. I, however, 
 carried no arms, except the " pickers and stealers " that 
 Dame Nature furnished me ; so I did not speak to the birds 
 in the loud tones of villainous saltpetre. I have had my 
 murderous propensities — nurtured when a lad, by shooting 
 crows and squirrels — the most excited here, in Iceland, by 
 some old ravens, who seemed to me to act with a very un- 
 becoming familiarity. These birds were sacred to Odin, 
 and I believe the Icelanders never molest them. Odin had 
 two, one for memory, and the other for news. They used 
 to fly abroad during the day, and return at night, bringing 
 intelligence from all parts of the world. One would perch 
 on his right shoulder, and the other on his left, and relate 
 to him every thing that was going on, at the same time re- 
 freshing his memory in regard to past events. The old 
 Scandinavians never used, to make a voyage, or go a jour- 
 ney, without them. Floki, a Norwegian pirate, one of the 
 first settlers of Iceland, took three of them with him when 
 he started on his voyage, taking them as pilots, to show 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 17 1 
 
 hiin the way. After getting some distance beyond the 
 Faroe Isles, he let off one, and he returned to Faroe. Sail- 
 ing awhile longer, he sent off another ; and, after a wide cir- 
 cuit in the air, he returned to the ship. Sailing some days 
 more, he released the third ; and he flew away to the north- 
 west. Following him, he soon reached the coast of Iceland. 
 There seems to be a pair of these birds living near almost 
 every house in Iceland. I have never seen a church, with 
 a house near by, where there was not a pair of ravens. 
 They seem to be a much larger bird here, than any of the 
 kind that I ever saw in America. At the little church and 
 farm-house of Haukadalr, near the Geysers, were two ; and 
 they would often alight on the church, and sometimes on a 
 gate-post, but a few feet from me. One of them showed a 
 great aversion to Nero, and would sometimes swoop down, 
 and nearly hit the dog's head. Believing him to be 
 nothing but a heathen, I had a most Christian wish to send 
 a bullet through him. But my Colt's pistol was far away, 
 and his black ravenship could worship Odin, Thor, or any 
 other deity he pleased. 
 
 If these birds are not Christians, there is one excuse for 
 them. They are very long-lived, and, perhaps, having a 
 distinct recollection that some of the buildings now used as 
 places of worship, were built and used for worship during 
 the days of idolatry and heathenism, they have been uncon- 
 scious of the introduction of Christianity. The ravens 
 here have the same costume as in other countries, dressing 
 in the "inky cloak," and "customary suits of solemn 
 black." Their language, too, always being uttered in slow 
 
172 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and solemn tones, adds to their appearance of gravity and 
 •wisdom. 
 
 But as for the corbies, the corn-fed pirates ! they never 
 come here. A crow was never seen in Iceland. Here, 
 there are no grain-fields to plunder, nor trees to build their 
 nests in. Ill-bred rascals, living on bread-stuffs, were they 
 to come here and ask for a loaf, they would get a stone. 
 
 In my journey to-day, I passed near Skalholt, situated 
 in the forks of the Bruara and the Hvita rivers. This 
 place, dignified with the title of the " capital " of Iceland, 
 in most of the books of geography that I have seen, is 
 simply a farm, and contains the ruins of one small cathe- 
 dral church, where one of the bishops of Iceland used to 
 officiate. It is now only interesting as a locality connected 
 with the ecclesiastical history of the country. On the 
 banks of the mighty Thiorsa, I traveled some distance. I 
 find it difficult to leave this river. I like its roaring, tur- 
 bulent torrent — to look at — wouldn't like to swim it 
 though, unless I desired a much colder bath than I have 
 been accustomed to. I believe it would be difficult to find 
 a river of the magnitude, or strength of current, of this, in 
 an island that only contains 40,000 square miles. The 
 Thiorsa is nearly a hundred and fifty miles long, falls over 
 3,000 feet in less than sixty miles, and carries far more 
 water to the ocean than the Hudson does. 
 
 We left the river near the church of Olafsvell, and bore 
 away to the west, through meadows and farms, and one 
 large tract of lava. On our left, for some distance, it was 
 all lava ; and on the right was a range of hills and mount- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 1*73 
 
 ains. Our prospective stopping-place for the night, was at 
 the house of the sysselman of the district ; and, a part of 
 the day having been rainy, I did not care how soon we 
 arrived there. The roads were tolerably good — that is, for 
 Iceland — and custom had made a seat in the saddle for 
 eight or ten hours in the day, a comparatively easy exercise. 
 
 But, ho ! the sysselman's house appears in sight. Some 
 large flocks of ptarmigan seemed to be tokens of good cheer 
 and comfortable quarters. Riding up a long lane between 
 fences, we arrived at the house, a fine framed building, and 
 the only house I had seen in some time, that appeared fit 
 for the home of a Christian. Round it were out-buildings, 
 and a large number of hay-stacks. The afternoon had 
 cleared off finely ; and the shining of the western sun, and 
 the presence of a good many well-clad people and children 
 — some piling up the fragrant hay — made one of the most 
 pleasant and comfortable scenes that can be imagined. 
 
 We dismounted, and the guide went among the men, 
 and first spoke to a clerical-looking personage, dressed in 
 black. He next saw and talked with the sysselman, who 
 was giving directions about gathering and stacking the 
 hay* The guide returned to me, and I understood him to 
 say the man in black was the parish clergyman. Still the 
 sysselman did not come near me; but he was busy, and his 
 tardiness was only the prelude to a most hearty welcome ; 
 for he finally came forward, and shook me cordially by the 
 hand, an operation he repeated several times while walking 
 towards the house. He was a native Icelander, tall, well- 
 dressed, and a man of intelligence. He spoke some English, 
 
1*74 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and was, evidently, a right down, merry, hospitable good 
 fellow. Opening the front door of his house, he ushered 
 me into his parlor, a well-furnished room, having chairs, 
 sofa, a fine carpet, and on the walls several pictures, look- 
 ing-glass, &c, &c. 
 
 Here I was in clover, for once. Visions of down-beds, 
 a plastered and papered room, and capital cheer, crowded 
 thick and fast upon me. The good cheer was not long 
 coming, either — for wine, brandy, hot water, sugar, glasses, 
 silver spoons, et cetera, and sugared cakes, soon covered 
 the table. He spoke most every language under heaven, I 
 have no doubt ; but to me it seemed a mixture of Danish, 
 English, Latin, Greek, Icelandic, and French, with some 
 broad patches straight from Babel, that my learning 
 couldn't exactly sort out. The priest too was present; and 
 mine host characterized him as a finished scholar, and one 
 who could talk excellent Latin. His lingo, though, was many 
 removes from the language of Cicero and Horace. The 
 sysselman poured out some brandy, and mixed a glass of 
 punch ; and so did I ; and so did the preacher ; and we 
 sipped it. I had often heard of the Iceland sysselmen, and 
 their hospitality to travelers ; but this was my first experi- 
 ence of it, and it went clear up to the portrait my imagina- 
 tion had drawn. 
 
 We drank and ate ; and he took me through his house, 
 showed me his library, his sleeping rooms, his handsome 
 wife, and several rosy- cheeked, well-dressed children. He 
 showed me an octavo volume, the journal of their Althing 
 or Assembly ; and I saw his name among the national legis- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 1*75 
 
 lators, where he had figured as a statesman. He took 
 down from his library a life of Lord Byron, in Danish, with 
 portraits, and extracts from his works in English and trans- 
 lated, and, writing my name in it, gave it to me.* 
 
 Meantime, the liquor seemed to improve him. He 
 gradually grew mellow ; was first kind, then cordial, then 
 sociable, then talkative, then argumentative, then jolly, 
 then affectionate, then drunk — or at least rather "how 
 come you so ? " We walked out doors, and saw his people 
 building hay-stacks. It was a beautiful approaching sun- 
 set. I ran and jumped on to a half-finished stack, to see 
 how it was formed ; but I came off again pretty quick, and 
 found I had a small brick in my hat ! No matter, how- 
 ever, considering the day's travel was over. The guide, 
 though, didn't take the saddles off, and only opened one of 
 the trunks to get a book I wished to show the sysselman. 
 It seemed barely possible we were not to stay all night here, 
 after all. In fact, he hadn't asked me to stay. He would 
 not have had to ask me but once. Our friend in the cleri- 
 cal garb became very merry too. He made signs of depar- 
 ture, but seemed waiting for me. Was it possible we were 
 not to stay all night at the sysselman's ? The guide had 
 all day told me we should. But the fact began to stare 
 me in the face : so did a very extensive bog meadow, 
 directly to the west. But the sysselman didn't ask me to 
 stay all night. I wished he had. But he didn't. And 
 
 ♦The presentation read thus: "Tie Herre Pliny Miles, Ra- 
 burky, fra New York ; erkjendtligst fra Th. Gudmundsen, Syssel- 
 mandi, Arnes Sysla, 30 Juli, 1852." 
 
176 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 our horses were led to the door, and the saddles adjusted, 
 and every thing got ready ; and we mounted and rode off. 
 The jolly, clerical-looking chap accompanied us ; though 
 he was no clergyman at all, but a drunken ferry-man, who 
 lived on a river a long way to the west. He was to be 
 our guide over the interesting bogs, to some very nice cara- 
 vansera, no doubt ; but where it could be, I neither knew 
 nor did I inquire. We left — we did — and I gave my kind 
 entertainer a very affectionate and cordial good-night. He 
 is a merry, hospitable, good fellow, I am sure ; but I didn't 
 repose under his eider-down. 
 
 Our ride was a cheering one — in a horn ! And miles 
 we traveled, and — and — and — wait till the next chapter, 
 and we'll see what. 
 
CIIAPTEK XT. 
 
 Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, 
 
 When our deep plots do pall ; and that should teach us 
 
 There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 
 Rough-hew them how we will. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 No, I did not stay at the sysselman's; but I had a ride 
 of a couple of hours, through a bog meadow, and arrived 
 about sunset at Hraungerthi — Islandsk — " Garden of Lava." 
 This, like many other towns that may be seen laid down 
 on the map of Iceland, contains nothing but a farm and 
 farm-house, the residence of a clergyman, and his church. 
 The pastor owns the farm and. pastures, and labors in 
 his own vineyard, as well as in the vineyard of the Lord. 
 During the week he looks after his flocks and herds; 
 and on Sunday he gathers his own little flock of im- 
 mortals together, and tells them of the green meadows and 
 still waters that lie in the domain of the Good Shepherd 
 in that bright realm where winter never comes, and where 
 earthquakes and volcanoes are heard not. The clergyman 
 of this district is Herre Sigurthur Thorarensen, and I soon 
 found I had lost nothing by leaving the sysselman's to 
 come under his hospitable roof. He was not a bon vivant 
 and a " jolly good fellow ; " but he was a man of sense and 
 learning, a Christian and a philosopher. He spoke Latin 
 
178 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 excellently ; and his son, Stefan Thorarensen, could converse 
 fluently in English, as well as in four or five other langua- 
 ges. I know not when I have enjoyed myself as pleasantly 
 and profitably as in my visit at this hospitable mansion. I 
 soon found that I had gained, not lost, by coming here, and 
 that, as in many other cases, what seems to be a misfortune 
 or inconvenience turns out for the best 
 
 Mr. Thorarensen had a fine library of books in various 
 languages, and a copy of the large and elegant map of Ice- 
 land that had been lately published. His house had excel- 
 lent furniture, and he was everyway as well lodged as his 
 official neighbor, the sysselman. The church, a few steps 
 from the house, was a neat wooden building ; and in it were 
 two monumental tablets — rather unusual in Iceland — one 
 with an inscription in gilt letters to the memory of Mr. 
 Thorarensen's late wife. Every-thing in and about this 
 church was in excellent order and good taste. Around the 
 church were small, green mounds, where — 
 
 "The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." 
 
 Not a " head-stone," a " piece of mouldering lath," or single 
 mark or inscription was seen. Nothing but the little grass- 
 grown mounds erected over the dead in one of their 
 churchyards. How simple such a mode of burial ! Shall 
 any of these be forgotten at the sound of the last trump ? 
 Would a " storied urn or animated bust" give them a surer 
 passport to heaven, or make the sleepers sleep more soundly ? 
 Would a lying epitaph cheat the Great Jehovah, or be ad- 
 missible testimony at heaven's bright gate ? Sleep on ! 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 1^9 
 
 "All that breathe shall share thy destiny." All shall "mix 
 forever with the elements," or be a portion of " the clod 
 that the rude swain turns with his share and treads upon." 
 When time comes to an end, and the earth is withered up 
 like a scroll, fame will say as much for these humble island- 
 ers as for the proud sons of genius in more genial climes — 
 those whose names adorn marble columns and gilt title- 
 pages. 
 
 Mr. Thorarensen and his son showed me their farm, a 
 very neat, well conducted one, and gave me a good deal of 
 information respecting the modus operandi of farming in 
 Iceland. 
 
 The great bar to improvement here, as in most old 
 countries, is the objections the people make to change 
 old customs. On the banks of the Nile and in Syria, 
 in the days of Moses and Aaron and in Solomon's time, 
 they plowed with a crooked stick, and for a team used 
 a cow yoked to a camel, or a ram harnessed to a donkey. 
 To the present day, the cow and camel and crooked stick 
 scratch up the ground in Syria. In Iceland, in the days of 
 the Vikings, they had no plows, but dug up their fields 
 with a spade or a piece of iron. The spade is used to this 
 day, and the plow is still unknown. In the garden here at 
 Hraungerthi, I saw Swedish turnips, potatoes, cabbages, 
 lettuce, radishes, parsle}^, caraway, horse-radish, angelica, 
 and some other vegetables. 
 
 One great difficulty with them in their gardening, is the 
 want of seed. Their seasons are often short, and the 
 vegetables, though grown sufficiently for the table, fre- 
 
180 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 quently will not go to seed ; so that they must obtain 
 fresh supplies every year from Denmark. Aside from the 
 expense of this, the vessels that come from Denmark to 
 some of the Iceland ports arrive but once or twice in the 
 year ; and an order for any article from Copenhagen 
 cannot be executed unless given six months or a year 
 beforehand — often a longer peiiod than a man will know 
 his wants. Accustomed as I had been to see plenty of 
 vegetables, it did not seem like good living to find few 
 articles of food except beef and mutton, fish, milk, butter, 
 cheese, curds, tallow, and lard — all animal food — with now 
 and then a little black bread, or barley porridge. At Mr. 
 Thorarensen's, I had set before me a fine piece of roast 
 lamb, coffee, wheat bread, Danish butter, and good wine. 
 These articles, however, are not all found in the houses of 
 the poorer classes of Iceland. They can all have mutton 
 and beef, and coffee is a common beverage, and Danish 
 brandy is rather too common. The most of the Icelanders 
 indulge rather freely in the use of tobacco (snuff) and 
 brandy. Having few, or, I may say, no amusements, and 
 families often living so far apart, that for five or six months 
 — the winter season — their nearest neighbors are not 
 seen, can it be wondered at that some excitement to the 
 animal spirits will be sought from stimulants ? I never 
 saw a man intoxicated in Iceland, and am sure drunk- 
 enness is not common ; but the poorer classes do often 
 indulge in too much strong drink. They generally keep 
 a bottle at the head of their beds ; and when I have slept 
 in the huts of the farming peasants — not the better classes — 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 181 
 
 I have always found a bottle of brandy under the pillow, 
 or at the head of the bed ; not probably placed there for 
 their guest, but as its usual resting-place. I have some- 
 times gone into a slight nosological investigation of the 
 contents, but have never pursued the subject farther. Per- 
 haps I'll "look into it" at some future time. I once, 
 while sleeping in a farm-house, waked up, and saw an Ice- 
 lander, in another bed in the same room, pull a bottle out 
 from under his pillow, and give a long pull at the contents, 
 then lie down again. I profess a complete innocence and 
 ignorance respecting the peculiar qualities of the Danish 
 brandy drunk in Iceland. If it is not better than some of 
 the " good and evil spirits " seen in some parts of the world 
 — Western United States, for example — then I should 
 hardly care to cultivate a close acquaintance. I never had 
 a " pull " at one of these " bottle imps ;" but I have drunk 
 champagne with His Excellency the governor of Iceland, 
 and had a very excellent glass of port wine with mine host 
 of Hraungerthi. 
 
 I said the Icelanders took snuff. They do ; and a way 
 peculiar to themselves they have of taking it. Their snuff- 
 boxes are much like a Scotch snuff-mull. I have seen 
 them made of the horn of a goat, a calf, or a yearling, and 
 sometimes ivory — the tusk of a walrus or a sea-horse — and 
 elegantly tipped with silver. They take a little stopper out 
 of the small end, and pouring out two little parcels of it on ' 
 the back of the left hand, apply each nostril, one after 
 the other, and snuff it up. It is very quickly done, and 
 quite as neatly as the method we are accustomed to see 
 
182 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 with us. That is, comparatively speaking; for, in strict 
 truth, I will scarcely allow the applicability of any inter- 
 pretation of the word neat to a practice, one of the most 
 filthy — chewing always excepted — that ever besmeared and 
 disgraced human nature. I should have been glad to have 
 been able to report the Icelanders free from this vice ; but 
 in this they have been contaminated by habits introduced 
 from older civilized countries, and the truth must be told. 
 Smoking is not so common, though pipes and segars are 
 often seen in the sea-port towns. 
 
 Respecting cultivation on the Iceland farms, the term 
 is scarcely applicable. The meadow lands are rough by 
 nature, and they make it still more so by the way they put 
 manure on it, leaving it in heaps. I am told that the Ice- 
 landers imagine that more grass will grow on any given 
 number of acres if the surface is uneven, from the fact that 
 there is more area. They forget that the grass grows per- 
 pendicularly, and that no more blades can stand on an un- 
 even than on an even surface. Then, too, it is so very 
 uneven, that the turf is broken in many places, and, of 
 course, produces less than as if there were a level, unbroken 
 turf. Better counsels, however, are beginning to prevail ; 
 and many farmers are leveling down their meadows, and 
 improving their farms ; and they find on trial that level 
 land produces more than that which is covered with 
 hillocks. 
 
 Here, at Hraungerthi, I saw considerable timber, and 
 asking how it was conveyed here, was told that it was 
 brought on the backs of ponies, just as every thing else is 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 183 
 
 carried. Not very large timber, some that is four inches 
 square, and twelve to eighteen feet long, is carried long 
 distances. One or more pieces are lashed to each side of a 
 horse, and with one end dragging, they will go from fifteen 
 to twenty miles in a day. They cannot carry timber that 
 is quite as ponderous as the staff of Satan, described by 
 Milton — a Norway pine, or " mast of some tall admiral," 
 being but "a wand" to it. I asked about their heavy ar- 
 ticles of furniture, and was told that their sofa, bureau, and 
 some other articles, were made there. 
 
 The church of Hraungerthi was the best I had seen 
 out of Reykjavik, large enough, I should think, to hold 
 two hundred people. Many of the Iceland churches in the 
 interior of the country, are not more than twelve feet by 
 eighteen, inside measurement. 
 
 I was so well entertained at Hraungerthi, and got so 
 much information about the country, that I did not leave 
 till one o'clock the day after my arrival. A fine breakfast 
 was served at nine, coffee having been sent me in my room 
 as soon as I was up. I know not when I shall ever return 
 any of the numerous acts of hospitality and kindness ex- 
 tended to me by the Icelanders ; and I greatly fear the 
 opportunity never will come, unless Icelanders oftener go 
 to America than they ever have. In fact, since old Eric 
 and his friend sailed to the American continent, near a 
 thousand years ago, I believe it would be difficult to find an 
 account of a single Icelander that has ever been in Brother 
 Jonathan's land. If ever one does go to America, may I 
 be there to meet him ! and if the neck of at least one cham- 
 
184 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 pagne bottle does'nt get wrung off, then — then — then I'll 
 see what. 
 
 If the Danish government will open the trade of Ice- 
 land to the world — an event not improbable — we might 
 expect some commerce between that country and this; and 
 then the inhabitants of Vinland, in their own cities, could 
 greet the followers and descendants of Eric and Heriulf. 
 

 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A heart that, like the Geyser spring 
 
 Amidst its bosom'd snows, 
 May shrink, not rest, — but with its blood 
 
 Boils even in repose. 
 
 P. J. Bailey. 
 
 Whether Americans will ever have the opportunity of 
 returning any of the hospitality that the Icelanders extended 
 to one of their countrymen, is uncertain. At any rate, 
 their guest was made welcome. Mr. Stefan Thorarensen 
 insisted on presenting me with a fine copy of the poems 
 of Jonas Hallgrimson, one of the modern poets of Ice- 
 land. Perhaps, some day I'll translate it into English 
 verse ! The pleasantest meetings must have an end ; and, 
 after the sun had passed the meridian, we had our horses 
 caught, and bade adieu to Hraungerthi. Two hours' riding 
 brought us to the ferry of Laugardaelir, on the Hvita, too 
 formidable a stream to ford at this place, and far larger than 
 I found it above Skalholt, where it came so near carrying 
 me away. Here we found our clerical-looking friend who 
 helped make the brandy-toddy disappear at the sysselman's. 
 He was the ferryman, his house standing near the bank of 
 the river. Like some other sanctimonious-looking fellows, 
 he was evidently a pretty hard case — something of a sinner. 
 9 
 
186 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 No hospitalities in his house ; not even a glass of brandy 
 and water. He was agent for an Iceland newspaper, and 
 seeing copies of the last number, I offered to purchase one. 
 I took a copy of the paper, and then held a handful of 
 money towards him, for him to help himself to the price. 
 There were all sizes and values of Danish coin down to a 
 skilling, to select from ; and, though the price of a paper 
 was just about one penny sterling, he took a third of a dol- 
 lar ! At the ferry, he " tried it on " again, but there it 
 didn't fit. He asked me a dollar, double the uniform price, 
 for rowing me across, but I gave him only the customary 
 rate. This was the first little variety that I had seen in 
 Iceland character ; but there are few flocks composed of all 
 white sheep. When we arrived at the bank of the river, we 
 saw the boat in the center of the stream, apparently coming 
 towards us, but on the opposite bank were two or three trav- 
 elers, vociferating violently to be taken across. We hal- 
 loo'd to the boatman furiously, and seeing his clerical-look- 
 ing master, he came to us first. A hook was set near the 
 landing, and honest black-coat drew it up, and found he had 
 hooked a small trout. A comely, handsome girl came down to 
 the water-side ; and our honest ferry-master told me, a num- 
 ber of times, that she was his " dottir." He seemed very 
 proud of her ; and well he might, for she was a strong con- 
 trast to himself. If he ever gets to heaven, it will probably 
 be on her account. The prettiest girl I have seen since 
 leaving England, was selling flowers in the market, at Ham- 
 burg ; and the next prettiest stood bare-headed and bare- 
 footed, in an old brown petticoat, on the bank of the Hvita, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 187 
 
 with a fish in her hand, and her long hair streaming in the 
 wind. 
 
 We had the usual variety in crossing the river. Several 
 of the horses got loose, and then tried to get into the boat, 
 or overturn it ; and some of them went swimming and float- 
 ing far down the stream before they landed. The boat was 
 r6wed by the boatman, and the ferry-master in his "suit of 
 sables." The master was a regular " lazy ;" and I thought 
 the boatman would, though on the down-stream side, turn 
 the boat round in a circle. This boatman was the wildest- 
 looking man I ever saw in my life. He had no hat, coat, 
 nor vest, and his long hair, hanging down on all sides of 
 his head, made him look like a wild man. He was a pic- 
 ture, and would have made a subject fit for a Wilkie. He 
 was not a man, though, to be afraid of; and, in fact, I should 
 rather trust him than his master. 
 
 Our journey, to-day, led through a country mostly level 
 meadows and bogs, with a constant range of hills and 
 mountains on our right. The same continued evidences of a 
 volcanic region presented themselves, that we see more or 
 less, all over Iceland. 
 
 There was not as much lava, except on the hills, as we 
 found in some other places ; but a constant succession of hot 
 springs. Since crossing the Thiorsd river, yesterday, we 
 have passed at least six different localities where the smoke 
 arises from hot and warm springs. We were now approach- 
 ing some springs far more celebrated than any we had seen 
 lately, and perhaps the third in point of interest of any to 
 be found in Iceland. These springs are known as the Rey- 
 
188 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 kir springs, and are visited by most everybody that comes 
 to Iceland, being but one day's journey from Reykjavik, 
 and far easier of access than the Geysers. The Reykir 
 springs, to be enjoyed, must be seen before visiting the 
 Geysers, as they are far inferior to their more celebrated 
 spouting brethren in the north. I was told I should come 
 to these springs after winding round a range of hills on my 
 right ; but we kept " winding round," and I thought the 
 springs never would appear. The weather was rainy, and 
 the roads bad, and though we had but a short journey to- 
 day, I was glad when the wreaths of smoke announced the 
 day's travel nearly over. I had here a hotel of the usual 
 dimensions, and the ordinary sacred character — a small 
 church, and the poorest I had seen in Iceland. " Frouzly " 
 haired men, and fat, red-cheeked girls, with large pails of 
 milk, were, as usual, seen about the farm-house. A bed of 
 down — what all the Icelanders have — and one of those 
 small and prettily-checked coverlets, the manufacture of the 
 family, were brought out to the church, and with some dry 
 clothes, hot water for my tea, and a large bowl of milk, 
 Nero and I were soon fast by the altar, and enjoying our- 
 selves as much as any two sinners in the world. Oh ! if a 
 man wants to enjoy his loaf, whether it is white bread or 
 black, and if he wishes sound sleep, either in a church or on 
 the ground, let him mount a pony every day, and ride in 
 storm and calm, through bush and bog, brake and brier, 
 and over fields of Iceland lava. 
 
 The Reykir springs are nearly a hundred in number, and 
 cover some fifty acres — a tract nearly as large as the Gey- 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 189 
 
 sers occupy. These springs also comprise every variety of 
 hot, warm, spouting, and mud springs. The springs here 
 that spout, are more regular than the Geysers, but do not 
 perform on so extensive a scale. They don't bore with so 
 big an auger; havn't the caliber, nor the capital to do busi- 
 ness on. They are very beautiful ; but, to be appreciated 
 fully, should be seen before going to the Geysers. The 
 spouting ones are intermittent, giving their eruptions at reg- 
 ular periods. I found, by consulting my watch, that the 
 largest one commenced an eruption once in three hours and 
 sixteen minutes. Each eruption continues about half an 
 hour. This spring, or Geyser, is like a well, about five feet 
 in diameter. It has been nearly filled up, by persons throw- 
 ing large stones into it. When I arrived, it was not in an 
 eruption, and down among the stones I could see the hot 
 water, boiling violently. It was on the top of a rise or 
 knoll of ground, and I could see that the water had made an 
 aperture, and escaped through the petrified wall of the well, 
 and appeared on the surface of the ground, a little way 
 down the knoll, making a fair-sized brook. No water ran 
 over the top of the well, only when in action. 
 
 At the time of an eruption, it rushed suddenly, without 
 any warning, up through the stones, separating into a great 
 many streams. There it continued playing beautifully, 
 much like an artificial fountain, for nearly half an hour. 
 The noise could be heard for half a mile, or more. The first 
 time it played, after my arrival, was near midnight, after I 
 had got to sleep. Hearing the roar and rush of water, I 
 was instantly awakened, and ran to the church window, and 
 
190 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 looked out. There it was, throwing up its broad, white, 
 foamy jets, about a quarter of a mile from me. There being 
 no darkness here, at this season, sights and shows appear to 
 about as good advantage in the Iceland twilight as in the 
 noonday sun. I watched it from my window, till it settled 
 down, and gradually sunk into the earth. I saw it in erup- 
 tion twice the next morning, before I left. Its height was 
 scarcely forty feet, but it would be a grand addition to the 
 artificial fountains and warm baths in one of our cities. 
 Wonder if the Icelanders would sell it ? Guess not ; it is one 
 of the " lions n of the country ; and, if their curiosities were 
 gone, there would be nothing to attract the foreigners here. If 
 a stretch of the imagination could make a spring movable 
 property, one would hardly think of carrying off Mount 
 Hekla or Skaptar Jokull. This Geyser is near the foot of a 
 range of hills, the same as the Geysers in the north. The 
 brook of hot water from this, ran near half a mile before it 
 emptied into a cold stream that flowed past. One of the 
 prettiest fountain-springs in the world is near the bank of 
 this cold brook, at the foot of a very steep ridge, near half a 
 mile from the larger Geyser. The basin itself was ten or 
 fifteen feet across, and shaped some like the half of an oyster, 
 or rather a clam-shell. The side next the hill was far the 
 deepest, sinking into a kind of well three or four feet in dia- 
 meter, where the water came out. The direction of the well 
 was slanting or diagonal, the opening coming outward from 
 the hill. The brow of the hill hung partly over the spring, 
 so that in an eruption the water could not rise perpendicu- 
 larlv, but was forced out at an angle of thirty or forty de- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 191 
 
 grees with the ground. It did not throw the water more 
 than ten or twelve feet high, and fifteen or twenty feet out- 
 wardly. This spring makes up for its lack of size and 
 grandeur, in the frequency of its eruptions, and the beauty of 
 the incrustations and petrifactions in and around it. All the 
 bottom of the spring is a mass of petrifaction, and nearly as 
 white as the purest marble. After an eruption, the water 
 would gradually recede from the basin, and sink down into 
 the earth, nearly all disappearing, so that the water could 
 just be seen down the aperture of the spring. Then it 
 would at once commence rising gradually ; and in three or 
 four minutes it would get to spouting, and continue going 
 till the basin was full, and run over considerably. After 
 three or four minutes it would gradually stop, and sink back 
 again. A whole round of performance, rising up, blowing 
 off, and sinking down again, occupied about fifteen min- 
 utes. 
 
 With a hammer that the guide brought me, I broke up 
 some beautiful incrustations to bring home. The samples 
 of these petrifactions are not unlike some found in the lime- 
 stone caves of Virginia and Kentucky. The mud-springs 
 here are very curious. Some of them are like large and 
 sputtering cauldrons of black pudding. Again, some of 
 them are seen gurgling away down in the earth ; and, at- 
 tracted by the noise and the steam, I would go and look 
 down a hole, and see it sputtering and boiling, apparently 
 pure clay in a semi-liquid state. The clays here are very 
 beautiful, and a great variety of colors, as I had found them 
 at the Geysers. In many places near the springs — particu- 
 
192 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 larly near the mud-springs — the clay is soft and hot, often 
 dangerously so. Visitors sometimes get into a soft place, 
 and sink into it, getting their feet and legs dreadfully 
 scalded. In these places it is boiling hot. What a terrible 
 fate for a man to sink down here out of sight ! Nero ac- 
 companied me from the house up to the Geyser, and when 
 he came to the brook of hot water that ran from it, he 
 stopped, and gave a howl. Poor Nero ! he knew it was 
 hot, and would scald his feet, and it was too wide for him to 
 jump it. So I took him up in my arms, and carried him 
 across. He seemed to appreciate the favor perfectly. The 
 poor dog did not know but he had escaped being drowned 
 in the rivers, or roasted in Mount Hekla, to come here and 
 be boiled in the Reykir springs. Good old Nero ! many a 
 long league we've traveled together, and you have got so 
 you scarcely know whether you like your Iceland or your 
 Yankee master best. I rather think you like the one best 
 for the time being, who gives you the most boiled bacon, 
 and fresh milk. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 M By water shall lie die, and take his end." 
 
 Having seen the Reykir springs, I prepared to 
 leave. I paid the man the usual sum for the privilege of 
 sleeping in the parish church, and for the grass for our 
 horses, and milk for ourselves. He was evidently dis- 
 satisfied ; returned no thanks, and did not offer his hand as 
 a token of satisfaction. From his demeanor now, and more 
 from some circumstances hereafter to be related, I think 
 him a bad man. He was of a much darker complexion 
 than the most of the Icelanders, and a morose, churlish- 
 looking fellow. Perhaps, from the fact that he was the 
 landlord of the Reykir Springs — a "fashionable watering- 
 place" — he had grown worldly, and considered a stay on 
 his premises worth more than it is at most caravanseras. 
 He saddled his horse, however, and prepared to accompany 
 us ; probably, though, as a favor to the guide, rather than 
 to me, as he would not like to forfeit his future custom. 
 The guide rode ahead with the pack-horses, and I went a 
 little way to the right to see some hot and warm springs — 
 a part of the great family here, that I had not seen the night 
 before. There were two, similar to two that I had seen at 
 the Geysers, large and deep; perhaps twenty feet across, 
 and entirely full of hot water, so clear that I could see 
 perfectly plain to the bottom — about thirty or thirty-five feet, 
 9* 
 
194 ' RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 as near as I could judge. These springs did not discharge 
 a very great quantity of water ; but there they were level, 
 full, and hot enough to boil a dinner, and there they had 
 been in that state, probably, 
 
 " Amid the flux of many thousand years, 
 That oft had swept the toiling race of men 
 And all their labored monuments away." 
 
 A little way off — perhaps twelve rods — was a cold 
 spring, and between that and the hot ones was one of tepid 
 water. " Mine host " rode out near me, to call my attention 
 to this tepid spring. It was more like a well, about ten feet 
 across at the top of the water, which was below the surface 
 of the ground some six or eight feet. I got off my horse, 
 and with some caution went down the steep, sloping side 
 of the well, and felt of the water. It was about blood heat, 
 and no steam escaped from it. The water was pitchy black, 
 and showed no bottom, appearing of unfathomable depth. 
 The Icelander also went down the bank, and felt of the 
 water; and while he did so, his feet gave way, and down 
 he went into the horrible-looking pool. As he sank, he 
 turned his face towards me with a look of terror and fear 
 more horrible than I ever saw on a man's countenance 
 before. May I never be a witness to another such sight! 
 His death seemed inevitable. To my utmost astonishment, 
 he floated. To go in after him was out of the question, and 
 would only have resulted in drowning us both. He floated 
 over on his back, his face just out of water, and reached his 
 hands imploringly towards me. I stretched my whip to 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 195 
 
 him ; and as he caught the end of the lash, I pulled him 
 slowly towards the bank, then grasped his hand, and got 
 him out. The man was drunk ! It was brandy that threw 
 him into the water, and no doubt 'twas brandy that kept 
 him afloat. Not being very fond of water, I think 'twould 
 be very difficult to drown an Icelander. Certainly this one 
 did not show the " alacrity in sinking " that Falstaff did. 
 He pulled off his coat, and wrung the water out of it ; and 
 then, in his wet clothes, mounted his horse, and we rode on 
 after the guide, who by this time was a long way ahead, 
 crossing the green meadows. 
 
 To the left, towards the river Hvita and the sea, it 
 was level ; and on the right, ranges of hills and mountains. 
 In the course of six or eight miles, we arrived at the 
 little town and church of Hjalli (he-akt-li). It was Sunday, 
 and the people for many miles around were assembling for 
 worship. Every one came on horseback. As for traveling 
 on foot any distance, such a thing is unknown in Iceland. 
 Here the landlord of the Reykir Springs left us. He 
 showed the same ungrateful, unthankful spirit that he 
 did that morning at home, although I had saved his life. 
 Holding forth my hand, to shake his at parting, with a 
 wrathful look he drew his back, and said " Nay." He had 
 no reason to treat me thus ; but according to an old super- 
 stition, common in Orkney and Shetland, and I believe in 
 Iceland, I ought to beware of him. It is related by 
 northern journalists — see Scott's Pirate — that when a ship 
 is wrecked, or under other circumstances, no one must try 
 to save the lives of the unfortunates ; for if they do, the 
 
196 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 person so saved will some day take the life of his bene- 
 factor, or in some way prove his evil genius. I don't think 
 this Icelander can stand much of a chance to be mine, for 
 in all human probability we shall never meet again. He is 
 evidently not born to be drowned, but he better be cautious 
 how he imbibes too much brandy before going to the 
 margin of a deep well. He may not, at another time, have 
 a Yankee to pull him out if he falls in. Leaving Hjalli, we 
 crossed a broad tract of country covered with the beautiful 
 heath, now in full bloom. I stopped and gathered a large 
 bouquet to carry home. This day it rained the most of the 
 time ; and, though not near night, I was glad when we 
 arrived at Vogsosar, where the guide said we were to put 
 up. We rode up to the house — bear in mind, the Iceland 
 towns often consist of just one tenement — and dismounted. 
 The resident was a clergyman — Rev. Mr. Jonson. He 
 came out, and after saluting me, had a long talk, in 
 Icelandic, with the guide. It seemed as if I had fallen on 
 evil men and evil times, for I did not like the appearance of 
 this man at all. Somehow, he had a forbidding look; and I 
 fancied we should have to travel further, as I did not believe 
 his heart or house would open for me that night. How 
 easy it is to be mistaken ! He was like all the Iceland 
 clergy — and like almost every one of the Icelanders — one of 
 the most hospitable of men. Having got the history of our 
 former travels — as I presume he did — from the guide, and 
 finding, no doubt, that I was one whose character would bear 
 investigation, he " took me in ; " not, however, as the land- 
 lady did Dr. Syntax ; but he took me into his house, showed 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 197 
 
 me a warm fire, had some fresh trout cooked for me, a fine 
 cup of coffee, and with a change of dry clothes, I was once 
 more " in clover." This was near the sea-shore, on a lake 
 known as Hlitharvatn, a kind of bottle-like arm of the sea, 
 where the water flowed in, through a neck or strait, at every 
 flow of the tide. About a mile south of the house, with the 
 waves of the Atlantic nearly washing it, stood the church. 
 This bears the name of " Strandar Kirkja," or, Church on 
 the Strand. 
 
 Southeast of this, a mile or two, is a cape known as the 
 "Nes." These names of "kirk," "strand," and "Nes," 
 show the similarity in the languages in the north of Europe. 
 There is Inverness, on the north coast of Scotland; Cape 
 Lindesness, on the southwest point of Norway ; and Reikia- 
 ness, on the southwest point of Iceland. Mr. Jonson had 
 some good books in his house, and was evidently a gentle- 
 man and a scholar. He talked excellent Latin, in which 
 dead language we exchanged our live thoughts. He 
 evidently lived rather comfortably ; and, like most of the 
 Iceland clergy, was both farmer and preacher. He made 
 some inquiries about America, but seemed extremely con- 
 tented, and well satisfied with his own country. He told 
 me, in order to cross the neck or strait that led to the lake, I 
 must start the next morning at six o'clock — " kora sexta " — 
 when it would be low tide. We accordingly made prepara- 
 tions for an early start. I found.it totally useless to offer 
 him money for my entertainment. Like all the clergy, not 
 a penny would he take. I offered a piece of silver to one of 
 his servants, who brought up our horses ; but a half-dollar 
 
198 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 had no charms for him ; he would not take it. He knew 
 the value of money, but he knew it was not the custom for 
 his master or his household to take money from strangers. 
 Giving him, and his wife and family, our best thanks and a 
 hearty shake of the hand, while the morning sun was gilding 
 the broad Atlantic, and lighting up the mountain tops, we 
 rode away. 
 
 Our ride to-day, going west from Vogsosar, was quite a 
 contrast to yesterday's journey. At six o'clock we found 
 low tide, and the water nearly out of the arm of the sea that 
 supplies Lake Hlitbarvatn with water. A young tern, half 
 fledged, was on a little island near us, as we passed ; and the 
 old bird showed great signs of alarm. The little fellow had 
 not been in the world long, but we certainly were not 
 among his enemies. The mother bird swooped down at the 
 dog and then at us, and screamed at the whole party, and 
 kept it up till we were far away from the little one. Skirt- 
 ing the strand for some distance, the guide pointed out with 
 great interest several logs of drift wood that had been 
 washed ashore. 
 
 The gales from the southwest bring a good deal of drift 
 wood on shore along here, every stick of which is valuable. 
 The coast being low, there is a long line of breakers pitching 
 their white caps on to the strand. Large numbers of sea- 
 fowl were riding and rocking on the waves, 
 
 " As free as an anchored boat." 
 
 It seems to me that the life of a sea-fowl must be a con- 
 tinued romance. I would like to fly and swim as they do ? 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 199 
 
 if I could. But some of them have floated, and swam, and 
 fished their lives away ; for their skeletons lie about on the 
 beach. How black the whole line of coast is along here ! 
 How different from the chalky cliffs of old England, or the 
 clear- white sand on the shores of America ! Here it is all 
 lava and volcanic sand, and quite black. From Vogsosar 
 we continued our journey west to Krisuvik, a very small 
 town near the coast, but it has no harbor. Never were the 
 striking features of a volcanic country shown more palpably 
 than where we traveled to-day. We rode on the plain, with 
 the mountains on our right and the sea to the left. Earth- 
 quakes, many of them very violent, happen here every few 
 years. Then large fragments of rocks and lava are rolled 
 down from the mountain tops far out into the plain. These 
 were very numerous and of all sizes, some that would weigh 
 fifteen or twenty tons having rolled from one to two miles. 
 Here the old lava, particularly that which had rolled down 
 from the mountains, had a different appearance from any I 
 had before seen in Iceland. Much of this looks like the 
 conglomerate or " plum-pudding stone " found on the coast 
 of Scotland, in our New England States, in California, and 
 in various parts of the world. It looks just as if in the vol- 
 canic times, when there was a general melting, that a quan- 
 tity of sea-worn pebbles and very hard round stones of va- 
 rious sizes would not melt, but became incorporated or rolled 
 up in the dough-like mass, and here they remain like enor- 
 
 Imous plum-puddings at Christmas time. 
 Many of the hills and mountains are very abrupt and 
 precipitous, like those near Revkir, and farther east, near 
 " ' - 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 My hour is almost come, 
 When I, to sulphurous and tormenting flames, 
 Must render up myself. 
 
 Ghost of old Mr. Hamlet. 
 
 Krisuvik is not a very flourishing city. It contains a 
 church and one farm-house, the latter comprised in several 
 edifices, as the farmers' houses here usually are, and all cov- 
 ered with green grass. Sir George Mackenzie's hook, which 
 I have with me, gives a picture of this place ; and every 
 building and object now, even to the garden wall, are an 
 exact facsimile of the Krisuvik of forty-two years ago. 
 Two and three miles to the north are the sulphur mountains, 
 and at this distance show plainly the yellow sulphur, the 
 variegated clays, and the smoke arising from the springs, 
 " and the mountains dimly burning." The people at Kri- 
 suvik, looked very poor and wretched, more so than any I 
 had seen in a long time. They let us have some excellent 
 milk, for which I paid them, and made them several presents 
 of trifling articles, w r ith all of which they seemed greatly 
 pleased. 
 
 We sat on an old grass-covered wall made of turf and 
 lava, and dispatched our dinner; and then, mounting our 
 horses, rode to the north towards the sulphur mountains. 
 If there is an interesting developement of volcanic heat in 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 201 
 
 all Iceland, it is in this most remarkable place. The sul- 
 phur mountains are a great curiosity. The name in Ice- 
 landic — Brennisteinnamur — looks a little " brimstony." In 
 about two miles, we came to a beautiful lake of green water, 
 — another " Grcenavatn" — like the one near Hekla. Near 
 this, in order to examine the mountains in all their glory 
 and fire, and see the sulphur mines, I had to leave my horse 
 and climb for it. Sir George Mackenzie gives a very inter- 
 esting, but rather terrible, account of this mountain-pass 
 and the dangers he and the companions went through in 
 exploring it. The guide, with the horses, kept the plain, and 
 I turned to the left; agreeing after I had explored the 
 mountains to come down one or two miles ahead and meet 
 him near some hot springs, the smoke of which we could 
 see. As the guide with our little cavalcade rode off, Nero 
 followed me towards the mountains. As the distance wid- 
 ened between the guide and me, the dog would stop and 
 cast a wistful look across the plain towards his master. As 
 all our separations had been temporary, he felt himself safe, 
 and with a little encouragement followed me. Still he 
 would now and then give a lingering look towards his mas- 
 ter, and it required more and more urging to get him to 
 follow. The distance grew wider and wider ; and now we 
 were near a mile and a half apart, when Nero, with one 
 glance at me, started upon the run. He flew like a deer, 
 and taking a bee-line across the plain, was very soon with 
 his good master and the ponies. Some sharp climbing up 
 the mountain, nearly a thousand feet, brought me to the 
 
202 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 sulphur mines — a scene I shall never forget, a literal pool of 
 fire and brimstone. 
 
 Had Milton ever visited the sulphur mountains of Ice- 
 land, I could have forgiven him his description of the infer- 
 nal regions. Here was a little hollow scooped out of the 
 side of the mountain; and all over and through it, yeh- 
 low sulphur, burning hillocks of stone and clay, and sti- 
 fling sulphurous smoke. The surface, too, was semi-liquid 5 
 in fact as near a literal lake of fire and brimstone as this 
 world probably shows. 
 
 " Dusky and huge, enlarging on the sight, 
 Nature's volcanic amphitheater 
 
 ****** 
 
 Beneath a living valley seems to stir ; 
 
 ****** 
 
 Pluto ! If this be hell I look upon, 
 
 Close shamed Elysium's gates, my shade shall seek for none." 
 
 Here was sulphur, bred in heat, coming up out of " the 
 bowels of the harmless earth," like saltpeter, that was so 
 abhorred by Hotspur's dandy. The earth itself here was 
 principally a fine pink or flesh-colored clay ; and all over 
 this I could see holes communicating with the mighty 
 laboratory of nature below; and as the steam and smoke 
 came out of these holes, the fine particles of sulphur seemed 
 to be brought up to the surface. The clayey ground where 
 the sulphur lay, was in most places soft, and could not be 
 walked over without the greatest danger of sinking down 
 through it, perhaps into the fiery depths, in the bowels of 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 203 
 
 the mountain. Indeed, it possesses a kind of horrible and 
 fascinating interest. Around the edges, and in certain 
 places, the soil is hard, and some stones are seen where one 
 can go in safety. By having a couple of boards, a man 
 might walk all over the ground. In some places, the 
 sulphur was a foot thick ; and as it gathered, it seemed to 
 consolidate, and I found I could break up large pieces, 
 beautifully crystallized. This sulphur appeared about as 
 pure as the sulphur sold in the shops, but not as dense. It 
 had not half that strong odor that sulphur and brimstone 
 have, in a prepared state. These mines showed signs that 
 they had been worked, as some bits of boards and planks 
 lay about, and there were some paths to be seen. The sul- 
 phur is taken off the surface, and then the ground is left for 
 two or three years for it to collect again. Sulphur is so 
 cheap, and these mines being so far from a seaport — 
 Havnefiord, some twenty miles north, being the nearest — 
 and roads and means of transport being so scanty, gathering 
 it is not very profitable, nor carried on to a great extent. 
 There are other sulphur mines in the north ; some pro- 
 ductive ones near Kravla mountain, on the shores of Lake 
 Myvatn. How did Shakspeare get his knowledge of sul- 
 phur mines ? He was never in a volcanic country. I think 
 he got it, as he did every thing else, by inspiration. He 
 knew that sulphur was generated in heat. In Othello, he 
 says: 
 
 " Dangerous conceits are, in their natures, poisons, 
 "Which at the first are scarce found to distaste, 
 But with a little act upon the blood, 
 Burn like mines of sulphur." 
 
204 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 After Othello kills Desdemona, he calls all the vengeance of 
 heaven down on his head. He says : 
 
 "Blow me about in winds! roast me in sulphur! 
 Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire! 
 
 King Lear speaks of a 
 
 "sulphurous pit, burning, scalding — stench." 
 
 In the Tempest, Ariel, when he bothers the enemies of 
 Prospero on their ship, shows them 
 
 the fire and cracks 
 
 Of sulphurous roaring." 
 
 The " beginning, end, and aim " of sulphur seems to 
 be fire. Poets and imaginative writers ever associate sul- 
 phur with fire. They give it a home equally with the 
 lightnings of heaven and flames of hell, the roaring of 
 artillery and the blazing of the volcano. It seems to have 
 birth in the thunder-cloud ; for, after the flash of lightning, 
 we can smell it, and after the shower is over, it is often seen 
 floating on the rain-water. To give one more quotation ; 
 King Lear says : 
 
 "Merciful heaven, 
 
 Thou rather, with thy sharp and sulphurous bolt, 
 Split'st the unwedgeable and gnarled oak, 
 Than the soft myrtle." 
 
 To drive a thunderbolt to split the myrtle, the game 
 would not be worth the powder, I suppose. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 205 
 
 Near the large bed of sulphur, were several mud springs, 
 one several feet in diameter. Here the boiling hot mud, like 
 pitch, was spluttering and splashing up into the air in jets. 
 I gathered several large lumps of sulphur, and then climbed 
 over a mountain ridge, and came to another similar place. 
 Here sulphur had been gathered, and was constantly accu- 
 mulating. It seems to be brought up by the heat that 
 exhales from the interior of the earth, as it collects on every 
 thing there is on the surface. If left for ages, I presume it 
 would gather in some places hundreds of feet deep. Some 
 have proposed the plan of laying boards on the ground for it 
 to collect on. It would then be very clean, and easily 
 gathered. In collecting it from the clay surface, consider- 
 able earth must often get in it, but there is a way of 
 cleaning it. In places away from the sulphur, I saw 
 the variety of beautiful colored clays, such as appeared 
 so plentiful at the Geysers, and at Reykir. I had a com- 
 paratively easy walk down the mountain, through a sort 
 of ravine, towards some hot springs and a green plain where 
 the guide and horses were. Hearing a roaring sound on 
 my left, I turned aside to learn the cause ; and there was a 
 steam spring, or rather a jet of steam, that rushed out of the 
 mountain with a loud and constant roaring. The noise and 
 escape of steam were incessant, the steam coming out in a 
 slanting direction, at least twenty feet in a direct line. The 
 noise it made was greater than that of one of our largest 
 steamship engines " blowing off." Without a doubt, if this 
 was in a manufacturing couutry, a house could be built over 
 this natural steam fountain, an engine erected, and by 
 
206 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 catching the steam in a cylinder, it could be made to 
 do good service, and all without fuel, fire, or water, and per- 
 petually. In Sir George Mackenzie's book was a description 
 and an illustration of this same jet of steam ; and I held the 
 picture up, and compared it to the present appearance of it, 
 and apparently it had not altered a particle in forty-two 
 years. This, with the six hundred years' record of the 
 Geysers, and the twenty-four eruptions of Hekla, shows the 
 perpetual and constant volcanic heat near the surface of the 
 ground in Iceland. Near to this was the most extraordinary 
 mud spring I have ever seen. It was the largest and most 
 active. It was a regular mud geyser. Imagine an 
 enormous kettle ten feet across, sunk down into the earth, 
 and filled to within six feet of the top, with hot, boiling, 
 liquid mud. There it kept boiling and spouting ; jets rising 
 from its pudding-like surface ten and fifteen feet high ; and it 
 kept constantly going. Wouldn't a fall into this cauldron 
 of liquid pitch be boiling enough for one live animal ! 
 Perhaps a boiled rabbit in this unpromising kettle of "hell 
 broth," would be as good as the Indians' way of rolling a 
 fowl in the mud, and then roasting it. The sulphur moun- 
 tains, and all that abound near them, are among the 
 greatest curiosities of Iceland ; but Mr. Barrow, the " very 
 enthusiastic" yachter, did not visit them, because the 
 morning he thought of going proved a little rainy ! He 
 also consoled himself for not going to visit Mount Hekla, 
 because " it might have been cloudy " when he got there ! 
 This is your English traveler, all over. Many is the time 
 that I have seen them forego the pleasure and profit — if 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 20*7 
 
 such travelers could profit at all — of visiting the most 
 interesting scenes, just because it would make a dinner-hour 
 a little later or a little earlier than common. 
 
 A fine brook ran through the green plain, and emptied 
 into a little lake not far away. It looked delicious enough 
 to bathe in ; and a bath in a warm pool or brook in Iceland 
 is a luxury, such as I have tasted. In speaking of these sul- 
 phur mines where the sulphur is hot — and it is gathered on 
 or near Mount ./Etna in similar situations — it may be men- 
 tioned, that there are places where sulphur is to be found cold, 
 and dug up like other minerals. When a boy, I recollect 
 being laughed at greatly by my oldest brother, for asking if 
 there were not " brimstone mines." Go to ! He that runs 
 may read, and he that runs far enough may write. " The 
 gods throw stones of sulphur on thee." — Cymbelline. 
 Goto. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 " Over the hills and far away." 
 
 On and about the sulphur mountains are a great many 
 curious sights, and none more singular than the various- 
 colored clays. At the distance of several miles the contrast 
 between the sulphur beds and the different kinds of clay was 
 so great, that the hills looked as if they had been experi- 
 mented on by a company of painters, so clearly did they 
 show their coats of many colors. I stopped some time ad- 
 miring the great steam-blast and its blubbering neighbor, 
 the gigantic cauldron of boiling mud. Fury ! I wonder 
 how beef and plum pudding would boil, if wrapped in a tight 
 bag and immersed in this boiling clay. Very well, no doubt. 
 Methinks 'twas very wise in the Almighty placing these prom- 
 inent and numerous exhibitions of internal heat in a " far off" 
 and thinly peopled land, where all the folks are incurious, and 
 not disposed to pry into nature's sublime secrets farther 
 than she chooses to show them. Now, if these ebullitions 
 of old Dame Nature's cauldron were in America, some 
 shrewd Yankee or joint-stock company would go to boring 
 right down to the center, to get at the fountain head ; and 
 after getting a supply of steam, proceed to let it out in 
 streams, to turn grist-mills, saw logs, cook hotel dinners, 
 pump water, drain marshes, and do many other " acts and 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 209 
 
 things that a free and independent " people " may of right 
 do." They would dig for gold, and finding it not, be content 
 with fire. With that fire they would cook, roast and boil, 
 warm themselves, and make baths. With the steam they 
 would turn machinery and spin cotton. Whatever com- 
 pound of metals, mines, or elements they found, of that they 
 would make riches, or at any rate attempt it, and some 
 would succeed. Some, I fear, would come off as the alche- 
 mist in Festus did, when the Devil taught him. Lucifer, in 
 the garb of a gentleman, and manners of a scholar, says — 
 
 "I have a secret I would fain impart 
 To one who would make right use of it. Now mark! 
 Chemists say there are fifty elements, 
 And more ; — would'st know a ready recipe 
 For riches ? 
 
 Friend. That, indeed, I would, good sir. 
 
 Lucifer. Get, then, these fifty earths, or elements, 
 Or what not. Mix them up together. Put 
 All to the question. Tease them well with fire, 
 Vapor, and trituration — every way ; 
 Add the right quantity of lunar rays ; 
 Boil them and let them cool, and watch what comes. 
 
 Friend. Thrice greatest Hermes ! but it must be ; yes ! 
 I'll go and get them ; good day — instantly. [Goes. 
 
 Lucifer. He'll be astonished, probably. 
 
 Festus. He will, 
 
 In any issue of the experiment. 
 Perhaps the nostrum may explode, and blow him, 
 Body and soul, to atoms and to ." 
 
 
 And I wonder where he'll find himself? Somewhere, no 
 10 
 
210 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 doubt. But I am not going to moralize on what might be, 
 or what will be, when philosophers come to Iceland and 
 bore out artesian wells. Perhaps if they do, they'll come 
 to the conclusion that some of the Icelanders have, that the 
 entrance to a certain warm region is not far from this coun- 
 try. These good people are very sensible, in leading up- 
 right, moral lives. 
 
 But a mountain lies before me, and I must ride. We 
 had sharp climbing for nearly a mile, and relieved the po- 
 nies by getting off and walking up a portion of the way. 
 On the summit of the mountain pass — perhaps 1,500 feet 
 above the plain — we had an extensive view. A long range 
 of mountains extended far to the east and northeast ; on the 
 west were separate peaks ; and to the south we could see far 
 out on the ocean. Smoke and steam from hot springs and 
 sulphur mines, rose up in various places. 
 
 Our descent on the north side of the sulphur mountains 
 was far more gradual, and quite circuitous. Passing from 
 a plain through a rocky defile, there I saw the foot-prints of 
 a former traveler, and where he had attempted to immor- 
 talize himself. It was not President Fillmore, of the United 
 States, but plain Mr. Philmore, of England. He was here 
 the year before, and my present guide had been his. There, 
 on the face of a large rock, he had cut with considerable 
 labor, the letter " P," the initial of his name. As it hap- 
 pened to be one of the initial letters of my name, I dis- 
 mounted, and finished the business with my knife, by cut- 
 ting in the rock my other initial, the letter " M." The rock 
 was a soft kind of pumice, and soon a gigantic M. stood at 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 211 
 
 the right of the P. Now, future travelers who come this 
 way, will learn with delight that the illustrious " Plinio 
 Myghellz " one day penetrated the rocky defiles, and clam- 
 bered up the snow clad mountains of Iceland ! By the 
 scrupulously conscientious, it may be alleged that I stole 
 another man's thunder, or at least the P with which he 
 put it down. But of what use is half of a man's initials ? It 
 scarcely means any thing; and, like half a pair of scis*sors, 
 cannot cut any thing ; or like an old bachelor, without 
 t'other half, " isn't good for nothing." Now, he put down 
 the P, and I mated it with the M, and there the two, keep- 
 ing one another company, will flourish to everlasting glory. 
 " Plinio Myghellz," you are famous ; and you, Mr. Phil- 
 more, you're " no whar." 
 
 We now traveled over the most extraordinary road I've 
 ever seen on the face of the globe. It must have been a 
 vast labor to make it passable ; but passable it was, and that 
 was all. It was a bed of lava several miles in extent, and 
 known as the " horrible lava." Indeed the road was a 
 horrible one, and I only wonder a road could have been 
 made at all that would be passable for man or beast. 
 Imagine a plain overflowed with melted lava to an indefi- 
 nite depth, say fifty to a hundred feet. Then on cooling, 
 this broke up in masses of rock of every imaginable shape 
 
 I and size ; only none of it was small or smooth or regular, — 
 rough and sharp peaks and edges, twenty feet above the 
 average surface ; and deep, yawning cracks or seams ap- 
 peared, fifty or a hundred feet deep, and large enough to 
 swallow up horse and rider. To make a road, the rocks 
 
212 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 were broken down, and crevices were filled up, to that ex- 
 tent that the sure-footed Iceland ponies got over it with 
 safety. Sometimes they jumped over the seams, and some- 
 times they clambered or crawled over the rugged rocks. For 
 five or six miles it was all desolation ; not one drop of water, 
 not a single blade of grass, not one living bird, not a house, 
 not a single scrubby tree, nor, apparently, a single specimen 
 of animal or vegetable life, save an inferior kind of moss or 
 lichen that clung to the rocks. We could see, now and 
 then, a patch of stunted heather. Such is the process and 
 progress of nature in Iceland. Lava overflows the land, 
 and for hundreds of years it stands up, cold, black, and na- 
 ked. Finally, a slight and thin species of moss — one of the 
 most inferior lichens — begins to cover the rocks with a 
 delicate brown or pale green. After a long period — some- 
 body else must tell how long, for I can not, — by the winds 
 carrying on the dust, by the flight and rest of birds, by 
 insects and the growth of mosses, a little soil appears, just 
 sufficient to support a scattering and scanty growth of 
 heather. And now this beautiful little shrub lights up and 
 adorns the desert waste. If you look on Gunnlaugsson's 
 large map of Iceland — a map made from surveys and ob- 
 servations extending over Iceland for twelve years, it will be 
 seen that the green, or agricultural portion, is not more 
 than one-third of it; and about one-half of the remainder — 
 another third of the island — is a pink color, indicating the 
 growth of the heath ; and the balance is snowy mountains, 
 sandy deserts, and black and barren lava. Such is the sur- 
 face of Iceland. After the bare lava tract has been sue- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 213 
 
 ceeded by a growth of heath, another long period is neces- 
 sary to get a sufficient accumulation of soil to support a 
 growth of grass, the most valuable and extensive vegetable 
 product of the country. I have noticed on a beautiful 
 meadow, where the turf had been disturbed, that only six 
 or eight inches below the surface, the rugged lava appeared. 
 I have mentioned that no country shows more beautiful 
 meadows, or produces more fragrant hay than Iceland. 
 It is of short growth, but remarkably sweet, and I am 
 sure more valuable, taken by weight, than the coarser hay 
 grown in England and America. 
 
 Soon after getting across the plain of " horrible lava," 
 we rode over a low mountain ; and before us was the town 
 of Hafnarfiorth. This is a nice village, nestled in a quiet 
 little nook ; and in its harbor were two or three vessels. 
 To those who have seen the town of Scalloway, in Shet- 
 land, this place bears some resemblance. Back of Scal- 
 loway, the hills rise more abruptly than here. The vil- 
 lage, though apparently near, was several miles away, and 
 we rode by a good many fine farms, with beautiful, green 
 meadows, showing a marked contrast to the lava tract that 
 we had passed. I had been here once before, as mentioned 
 in a former chapter, and made the acquaintance of a very 
 agreeable and hospitable Danish gentleman and his wife. 
 My first visit was with Professor Johnson, and he did 
 the talking on both sides; mine host, whose name also 
 was Johnson, conversing only in Danish and Icelandic. 
 Knocking at the door of the nice little white house, 
 it was opened at once, and there was a house full of 
 
214 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 young Icelandic ladies, — indeed the prettiest lot of Ice- 
 land fair ones that I had seen at one time. Neatly- 
 dressed, and beautiful girls they were ; not one plain one 
 among them. All were at work, knitting, just as we see 
 the good dames in America, when they "go visiting" in 
 the country. One had on the little Icelandic black woolen 
 cap, with silk tassel, the head-dress of the country ; and the 
 others wore nothing on their heads, dressing in the Danish 
 style, which differs but little from the " fashions " in Paris, 
 London, and New York. The good little lady of the house 
 greeted me very cordially ; but she was in a terrible fix, for 
 she could not talk with me. She tried Danish, then Ice- 
 landic ; and I attempted the same, stumbled through two 
 or three sentences, stuck fast, went on again, and finally 
 broke down altogether, ending in a hearty laugh all round, 
 at my expense. Never mind; it's no hard task to be 
 laughed at by a bevy of pretty girls. Mr. Johnson was 
 not at home, having gone to Reykjavik. Though the poor 
 little lady couldn't find her tongue, at least to any effect ; 
 but I can tell what she did find. She went to her closet 
 and found a bottle of capital wine, and she put it on the 
 table at once ; and I shall not tell how many glasses of it 
 went under my jacket before I left. 
 
 After partaking of the solids and fluids that my fair 
 hostess set before me, I rose to depart. Wishing them all 
 a very good day in the best Icelandic I could muster, and 
 shaking hands all round — -the usual affectionate parting 
 salute I did not dare attempt, being a naturally bashful 
 man ! — I mounted my horse and rode off. It was after 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 215 
 
 nine o'clock in the evening, and the sun was bending low 
 toward the Greenland sea. Hafnarfiorth is the finest 
 Iceland town I have seen, except the capital ; and it has a 
 fine harbor. It is quite as beautiful in shape, and as 
 secure for shipping, as Sackett's Harbor, on Lake Ontario, 
 The land nearly surrounds the harbor, forming about three 
 quarters of a circle. Large stacks of codfish were piled up, 
 and great quantities were scattered about on the gravelly 
 beach, drying. After once thoroughly dry, they tell me it 
 does not hurt the fish to rain on them ; and they leave them 
 out of doors with impunity. They put boards and heavy 
 stones on the piles to keep them from blowing away. In 
 this primitive community, all goods are safe under the 
 broad canopy of heaven, as " thieves do not break through, 
 nor steal." Visiting seemed to be the order of the day 
 at Hafnarfiorth. Several horses stood about, with the 
 curiously shaped side-saddles on them — like an arm- 
 chair — peculiar to the country. Boys were holding some 
 of these ; and some little girls, having got helped to seats in 
 the large saddles, were galloping the little ponies round 
 in fine style. They were bare-headed, with their long hair 
 streaming in the wind ; and they seemed to think riding 
 was capital fun. In fact, I never saw an Icelander, male 
 or female, who was too young to sit in the saddle. These 
 little northern nymphs seem to take to riding as naturally 
 as the South Sea islanders do to swimming. The village of 
 Hafnarfiorth has twenty or thirty houses, and perhaps two 
 hundred inhabitants. There is but one street, and that is 
 
216 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 bounded on one side by the water, with the houses and 
 stores on the other ; and it runs in a circle nearly round the 
 harbor, close to the water's edge. If any one comes here 
 and wants to know where my friend Johnson lives, I can 
 tell him ; always provided he does not move, and no 
 houses are built beyond his. It is the last house — a neat 
 little white, story-and-a-half one — on the southern side of 
 the harbor, the side opposite to Reykjavik. In journeying 
 from here north, we had to climb directly up a very steep 
 ascent, to get on the lava bed that covers the ground for 
 many miles. It was six miles to Reykjavik, the road 
 passing within about a mile of Bessastath, for a great 
 many years the site of the Iceland college. Had I not by 
 this time been accustomed to all sorts of traveling — swim- 
 ming, tumbling, flying, and ballooning — I should have 
 called this road a bad one. Indeed, it was abominable; 
 but I was accustomed to it. There's nothing like habit. 
 Long practice may make sleeping on a solid rock go as 
 well as a bed of down. 
 
 Rocks were piled on rocks, and deep and broad cracks 
 and seams were seen at intervals. Across one chasm 
 through which, deep in the earth, we could hear a stream 
 of water running, was thrown a natural arch of lava, that 
 served as a bridge where the road crosses. Winding round 
 a couple of deep bays that set back from the sea, we put 
 our ponies through, at the top of their speed ; they seemed 
 to appreciate their approach towards home ; and at about 
 11 o'clock, we jumped from our saddles, and with a loud 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 217 
 
 hurrah, dashed into the hotel at Reykjavik, where I met 
 my old friend, President Johnson, 
 
 " A drinking of his wine." 
 
 He shook my hand so heartily I thought he would unjoint 
 the elbow : " My dear Yankee friend, how are you ; and 
 how is old mount Hekla, and the big Geyser, and all the 
 little Geysers; and how are my friends, the sulphur mount- 
 ains ?" " Why, high, hot, and smoking ; how should they 
 be, my literary loon?" "And a fine tour you've had, I 
 hope." " Well, I have, my boy ; clear to the top of old 
 King Coal. Yes, and a peep into the crater." "Well, 
 you're one of the boys ; and I wish I could go across the 
 Atlantic, and see old Niagara with you." And here I had 
 a bed ; no more sleeping in churches ; a bed on an old- 
 fashioned camp bedstead — two letter X's ; high diddle did- 
 dle, the fool in the middle, like the circus clown with a 
 hoop over his head. 
 
CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 The nice young man, the modern youth, 
 Who drinks, and swears, and rakes, 
 
 Does little work, speaks little truth, 
 But plays at pucks andj>RAKEs. 
 
 Old Play. 
 
 If a man wishes to study ornithology, let him go to 
 Iceland. The most beautiful birds in the world, those hav- 
 ing the most brilliant, and finest, and warmest plumage, 
 are to be found in the Arctic regions. Some of the game- 
 birds of Iceland, I have spoken of. The greatest favorites 
 and the most valuable of all the feathered tribes here are 
 the eider ducks. Their down is the lightest and softest of 
 animal coverings, probably the worst conductor of heat, 
 and therefore the warmest clothing, that is known. The 
 eider down has long been one of the most important of the 
 products of Iceland, and until lately has usually sold at 
 several dollars a pound. The kings and princes of the 
 north of .Europe do not sleep on the down of the cygnets 
 of the Ganges, but on and under the down of the eider 
 duck. The increased products, the varied manufactures, 
 and the widely extended commerce of the world, have 
 brought into use other materials more conducive to comfort 
 and health than the eider down ; and the consequence has 
 been, the price has greatly fallen, so that now the poor 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 219 
 
 peasant can sleep on down, and it can be purchased for less 
 than fifty cents a pound. 
 
 The eider duck — Somateria molissima — is a large and 
 fine-looking bird. The male is over two feet in length, and 
 weighs six or seven pounds. His back, breast, and neck are 
 white, inclining to a pale blue ; the sides white ; the lower 
 part of the wings, the tail, and the top of the head black. 
 On the water, he is as graceful as a swan. The female is 
 much smaller than the male, and differently colored. The 
 female is pale yellowish brown, mottled with both white 
 and black. The tips of the wings are white, the tail a 
 brownish black. But a poor idea is given, however, of the 
 looks of these birds by an enumeration of their colors. 
 The down is a sort of brown or mouse color. These sin- 
 gular birds have both the character of wild and domestica- 
 ted fowls. Iu the winter they are so wild that it is difficult 
 to come near them, but in the breeding season — the month 
 of June — they are tamer than barn-door fowls. On the 
 islands all around Iceland, and many parts of the main 
 shore, they cover the land with their nests. When left to 
 themselves the brood of the eider duck does not exceed 
 four ; but remove the eggs daily, and she will continue to 
 lay for- weeks. The drake is a very domestic husband, and 
 assists in all' the little household arrangements previous to 
 the advent of the little ducklings. They build not far 
 from the water, making the nest of sea weeds and fine 
 grass, and lining it with the exquisite, soft down which the 
 female plucks from her breast. If you approach the nest — 
 which is always near the water — the drake will give a hos- 
 
220 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 tile look at you, then plunge into the sea with great 
 violence ; but the female stands her ground. If in a gentle 
 humor and used to seeing company, she will let you stroke 
 her back with your hand, and even take the eggs and down 
 from under her. Sometimes she will fight and strike with 
 her sharp beak, and she gives a blow in earnest. On finding 
 the down gone from the nest, she plucks off more, and 
 when the supply fails, the drake assists in furnishing it. I 
 have been told, if their nests are robbed of the down more 
 than twice, they abandon the place, and will not return 
 there the following season. Half a pound is the usual 
 quantity taken from a nest, and this seems a great deal, for 
 the domestic goose at a single picking rarely yields more 
 than a quarter of a pound of feathers. A greater quantity 
 of down is gathered in wet seasons than in dry. What im- 
 mense quantities of these birds come around Reykjavik, 
 and spend the breeding season, particularly on the islands 
 of Engey and Vithey in the harbor ! Around the houses 
 and frequently all over the roofs, their nests are so thick 
 that you can scarcely walk without treading on them. The 
 inhabitants get eggs enough to half supply them with food. 
 The eggs are the size and about the color of hen's eggs, 
 though not quite so white, rather inclining to a yellow. 
 They are nearly equal in quality to those of barn fowls. 
 After the young are hatched, their education commences 
 immediately. They graduate after two lessons. The old 
 duck takes them on her back, swims out into the ocean, 
 then suddenly dives, leaving the little mariners afloat. 
 
 Of course they swim. It gets their feet wet ; but they 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 221 
 
 don't mind that, as they never wear any stockings. In the 
 winter the eider ducks seldom go far from Iceland. They 
 visit the outer skerries, and go to the Faroes, and some to 
 Orkney and Shetland. They breed some in these islands 
 and the Hebrides, and sometimes on the main shore of 
 Great Britain. Varieties of the eider duck are found in all 
 the northern regions, Siberia, Kamtchatka, Behring's Straits, 
 Labrador, and as far south as New Brunswick. It seems a 
 wonder, among all the bird fanciers, that some attempt is 
 not made in England or our Northern States to domesticate 
 them. Let some Captain Waterton give them a chance ; 
 and even if they fly away after the breeding season, it gives 
 them the wider liberty, and the owner saves their keeping. 
 The flesh of these birds is excellent, better than any other 
 sea-fowl. In Iceland their value is so great, for their eggs 
 and down, that there is a law against shooting them. For 
 the first offense a man is fined a dollar, and for the next he 
 forfeits his gun. They are greatly alarmed at guns, and, if 
 often fired among, they quit the coast. So, with kind treat- 
 ment they give a good return, but treat them unkindly and 
 they will not return at all. The power of flight of this 
 bird, considering his weight, is almost incredible. Mudie 
 puts it down at ninety miles an hour. One variety, the 
 " western eider " — somateria dispar — is only found a native 
 of the northern part of the Pacific, on both the Asiatic 
 coast and in the Russian possessions of North America, 
 One of these birds, in a wild state, a solitary straggler, in 
 " good condition," was found near Yarmouth, on the east- 
 ern coast of England. That was the only specimen of this 
 
222 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 species ever seen in the British isles. What a journey was 
 that ! He must have flown from eastern Siberia entirely 
 across Asia and Europe ! Were man endowed with such 
 powers, either natural or artificial, would he not be a trav- 
 eler ? I can only speak for one, but I say this boy would 
 be a rover if he could go like the eider duck ! I wonder 
 if there are any Humboldts among birds. If this one had 
 not been invited to stay in England to adorn some museum, 
 he would have had a good budget of adventures to relate 
 by the time he had completed the circuit of the globe. 
 And is it unreasonable to suppose that birds sometimes 
 actually fly round the world ? 
 
 But there's one beautiful and interesting bird that has 
 never revealed himself to the ornithologists of Europe, 
 except on the lonely cliffs of the Meal Sack Island, far from 
 the main land and the haunts of men. Here they can be 
 found for about three months in the summer. Not a speci- 
 men of this bird is known to exist in any collection. Some 
 Danish naturalists have for years offered $200 for a pair, 
 either dead or alive. The great danger in approaching 
 this almost inaccessible island, with the strong currents that 
 run by it, and the wild nature of the bird, have, so far, 
 defied the efforts of yachtsmen, travelers, hunters, and 
 fishermen. The Icelander scarcely ever does any thing for 
 the sport or adventure of the thing; and rarely will a large 
 reward tempt him to go into any scene possessing much 
 novelty or danger, unless his own direct duty lies in that 
 direction. I have seen a water- color drawing of this bird, 
 at a gentleman's house at Reykjavik. He evidently be- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 223 
 
 longs to the penguin tribe. He is not as large as the pen- 
 guin, but about two feet in height, and stands as straight 
 up as a man. His back is dark colored, nearly black, and 
 the belly white. It is evidently a marine bird, and one 
 fond of lonely regions and cold climates, and at this time 
 possesses much interest, simply because we cannot catch 
 him. He is entitled to his liberty ; at least I shall give 
 him my vote to allow him to remain in his present free and 
 independent state. I have his Latin name written down ; 
 and anyone that is good at deciphering bad writing, and 
 thinks he can read this language of the Caesars when writ- 
 ten by a Dane, may examine this singular specimen of chi- 
 rography. It appears to me, to be as difficult to hunt out 
 as a sample of the bird itself. 
 
 I have now to speak of a far different specimen of the 
 feathered tribe — the cormorant. He is a vile bird. I say 
 vile, for he's a glutton ; his flesh is rank and unsavory, and 
 he's far from being a neat, tidy bird. The cormorant — 
 Carbo cormoranus — is common on the shores of Europe 
 and America, and in the islands of the sea as far north as 
 the Arctic circle. They are apparently larger than the 
 goose, but not so heavy. Color black, except the wings 
 dark brown, and sides of the head and a spot on the thigh 
 white. Though web-footed, he perches on trees, and some- 
 times builds his nest there. The bill of the cormorant is 
 about five inches in length, the upper mandible much 
 hooked. With this he takes his prey, the unlucky loiterers 
 of the finny tribe. He catches them usually across, and, 
 if large, he often rises in the air, throws up the fish ? 
 
224 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and as it falls head first lie catches him endwise, and the 
 fish, while struggling with life, finds a grave in the cormo- 
 rant's stomach. He will eat his own weight of fish in one 
 day ; and then, gorged to stupidity, he flies to a lonely cliff 
 spreads out his wings to dry, and lays there in a state of 
 half torpor for several hours, like an anaconda after he has 
 swallowed an ox. In this state, if his resting-place is 
 accessible, the bird can be captured readily. At one season 
 of the year — the breeding time — this bird and the shag, 
 another species of cormorant, have a crest on the head, of 
 greenish feathers. These afterwards disappear. 
 
 A far more elegant and interesting bird, is the gannet or 
 Solan goose — Sula bassana. On the wing, the gannet is 
 the most striking-looking bird I have ever seen. They are 
 three feet in length, and their wings stretch six feet. They 
 are white, except the outer half of the wing, which is black, 
 the bill, legs, and feet black, and head yellow. What 
 crowds of them we saw, both in the air and on the water, 
 off Cape Skagen, near the southwestern part of Iceland ! 
 During the summer, the Meal-Sack Island swarms with 
 them. The female lays but one or two eggs, nearly white, 
 but not much larger than the common duck's egg y though 
 the bird is as large as the goose. The gannet is exceedingly 
 fond of rocky islands a little way from the main shore, like 
 the Bass rock in the Forth, the Ailsa Craig in the Clyde, 
 and on the Iceland Meal-Sack. By these and similar 
 places is either a strong current or a strong run of tide, and 
 here are plenty of fish. Herrings, and very often cod and 
 haddock, are their favorite prey. On the wing as well as 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 225 
 
 in the water, the gannet is a powerful bird. With terrible 
 impetuosity, they descend from a great height, and plung- 
 ing into the water, seize and carry off their prey. Like .all 
 fishing birds, the gannet has a keen sight, keener probably 
 than the eagle, for he can discern his prey in the water, 
 while at a great height, and when the curl of the surface 
 so scatters the light that human vision, aided by all the 
 contrivances of science, cannot penetrate a single inch. 
 How singular is nature in all her operations ! But for a 
 peculiar structure, this bird, as swift as he has to plunge 
 into the water, would be killed, or at least stunned and ren- 
 dered helpless. The cellular tissue beneath the skin, on the 
 under part of the bird, is formed into air-cells, and inflated 
 by a peculiar muscular action ; and this gives a surface of 
 great elasticity, and both breaks the force of the blow, and 
 prevents the bird going very deep under water. When 
 the gannet comes up with his prey, he rises by a regular 
 momentum directly out of the water, and is on the wing 
 the instant he appears above the surface. 
 
 In one more chapter, I shall complete my brief notices 
 of some of the more interesting of the birds common in 
 Iceland. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The little boat she is tossed about, 
 
 Like a sea-weed to and fro; 
 The tall ship reels like a drunken man, 
 
 As the gusty tempests blow : 
 But the sea-bird laughs at the pride of man, 
 And sails in a wild delight, 
 * On the torn up breast of the night-black sea, 
 Like a foam-cloud calm and white. 
 
 Mary Howitt. 
 
 Among the birds of the far North, the snow-bunting — 
 Emberiza nivalis — is one of the most interesting. Who 
 has not seen the pretty " snow-bird " during a driving 
 snow-storm, come round the barn for some hay-seed, or to 
 the house for a crumb ? But where do they go in sum- 
 mer? Why, they go to Iceland, and a nice time they 
 have of it. They build their nestsin the crags ; and the 
 male perches on some rock in the vicinity and sings all 
 day long, while the female lays five small round eggs. 
 The male bird takes his turn in sitting on the nest ; and 
 they feed on the seeds of grass, rushes, and other hardy 
 northern plants. How extensively this bird migrates, it is 
 difficult to tell. We naturally suppose that small birds 
 have less power of flight than large ones ; but the Mother 
 Carey's chicken is found on the stormy ocean, a thousand 
 miles from land. In America, the snow-bird probably goes 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 227 
 
 to the region of Labrador and Hudson's Bay in summer. 
 Some may fly across Baffin's Bay to Greenland, or even 
 across the Greenland Strait, from there to Iceland, a jour- 
 ney that would not require a sea-flight of over 300 miles at 
 any one place. The snow-birds that summer in Iceland 
 may, and very likely do, fly south, taking the range of the 
 Faros, Shetland, and Orkney, and so to Scotland, England, 
 and the Continent. Great numbers of these birds spend 
 their summer in Lapland, where they get very fat on the 
 seeds that they gather on the plains, and in the lowlands. 
 The Laplanders kill many of them for food, and prize them 
 highly. In their winter plumage they are, like the ptarmi- 
 gan^ almost entirely white ; but in summer they are more of 
 a brown. In summer, this bird is fond of rocky and mossy 
 places, where there are no trees and few bushes. 
 
 A singular characteristic of most migrating birds, is 
 very conspicuous in the snow-bunting. The male is most 
 sensitive to heat, and the female to cold. In northern 
 climes the male of this, as well as some other birds, is often 
 seen in spring several days before the female. Then in 
 their autumn migration the female appears in the region of 
 its winter residence considerably before the male. We 
 should suppose they would migrate together, when the 
 male bird would have an opportunity of showing off his 
 gallantry; which, with another class of bipeds, is considered 
 mutually agreeable. Many of these modest and unostenta- 
 tious birds have I seen, while riding across the dreary 
 heaths of Iceland, perched on a stone or a mossy ridge, and 
 singing and chippering away, as much as to say, " Here I 
 
228 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 am, as far north as old Boreas will let me go." The snow- 
 birds undoubtedly take pretty long flights at sea, for they 
 usually appear on the coast of England and Scotland late 
 in the autumn, along with, and apparently driven by the 
 northeast winds, having undoubtedly flown across the Ger- 
 man Ocean, from the Norwegian coast. On their arrival, 
 they appear sadly emaciated and exhausted, and some of 
 them perish. With the wind that brings them, or soon 
 after, generally comes a fall of snow. Without resting on 
 the water, like the Mother Carey's chicken, the gull, the 
 pochard, the Solan goose, and other sea-birds, the snow-bunt- 
 ing must have a weary time of it in his flight across the 
 stormy sea. 
 
 Of gulls, there is almost an endless variety in Iceland; 
 and, apparently, quite an endless quantity. Some of these 
 are very large, larger than geese ; and, though much " run 
 to feathers," and not as much solid flesh as the goose, will 
 often weigh six or eight pounds. Their wings extend over 
 six feet. This bird is common, in some of its numerous 
 families, wherever there is salt water ; but there is one spe- 
 cies peculiar to this country, and rarely found south of here 
 — the Iceland gull — Larus Icelandicus. It is a kind of blu- 
 ish ash-color on the back, and the rest of the bird white. 
 Like all his brethren, he is a great fisherman, and he knows 
 where he can go and catch his dinner. 
 
 The skua gull — Lestris Cataractes — is a bird of very 
 peculiar habits. It is seldom found except in the Arctic or 
 Antarctic regions. Captain Cook found it while he was 
 skirting the polar ice. They are a very exclusive sort of 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 229 
 
 bird, living in large colonies, where none but their own spe- 
 cies are allowed to come. They are terrible fighters ; and 
 other gulls, or even the eagle or the raven, or scarcely man 
 himself, can invade their colony with impunity. Against a 
 large bird of prey, during the breeding-season, they will 
 charge en masse ; and wo be to their enemy ! He will get 
 pierced with scores of angry beaks. It is hazardous for 
 man, and instances are mentioned of some who have gone 
 among them without much protection to their heads, and 
 actually got their skulls broken by these powerful birds. 
 These gulls are not fond of fishing ; they prefer that others, 
 should fish for them. When the great gull, or any other of 
 the fishing-tribes, has got a load, and filled his stomach, 
 neck, and bill, with fish, and is /flying slowly and heavily 
 away to his expectant brood, this arrant freebooter, the skua 
 gull, dashes at the sober fisherman ; and his only chance of 
 .life is to disgorge all he has, and the skua catches it in its 
 fall, or picks it up from the surface of the water or land. 
 The Icelanders sometimes, in visiting the haunts of skua, 
 carry a sharp pike projecting a little above the head, and 
 the heedless gull comes dashing down at the man, and is 
 transfixed on the murderous iron. 
 
 One of the birds found in Iceland, and peculiar to high 
 Arctic and Antarctic regions, is the large snowy owl — strix 
 nyctea. This is a magnificent bird, two feet in length, and 
 four feet and a half in the stretch of its wings. One of 
 these birds adorns the parlor of Mr. Simpzen, an Iceland 
 merchant at Reykjavik. This bird is literally as white as 
 snow, though the females and the younger birds have some 
 
230 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 brownish feathers. The snowy owl is a bird of prey, and 
 night and day are the same to him. The ptarmigan and 
 the tern, cannot, all of them, find food during the long Ice- 
 land winters ; therefore, some of them, in their turn, furnish 
 dinners for his majesty, the white owl. When the wind 
 beats, and the snow drives, so that they would sweep the 
 birds to destruction, out comes this king of the wilds, clad in 
 his armor of impenetrable down and feathers ; and, riding 
 on the wings of the tempest, keeps holiday amid the wildest 
 turmoil of nature. All parts of the bird, except the point of 
 the beak, the nails, and the eye-balls, are covered with 
 feathers, so that he fears not the cold. This bird remains 
 the whole year in Iceland, and is very rarely, and that in the 
 coldest of weather, found as far south as Great Britain. 
 
 One more feathered resident, and I have done. One of 
 the hawk-tribe, peculiar to this country, the Jer-Falcon — 
 Falco Icelandicus — is a most remarkable bird. He is pecu- 
 liarly adapted to the wilds of Iceland, and the cold, naked 
 cliffs of the Northern Isles. Though not often seen, there is 
 no reason to believe their numbers are as small as might be 
 supposed. They are no parasites, like the skua gull. Not 
 they. They catch their prey alive and on the wing ; and so 
 terrible and unerring is their flight, that nothing can escape 
 them. Except his near relative, the peregrine falcon, there 
 is probably not a bird in the world that can equal his speed 
 on the wing. Gray, like his native cliffs, he will sit on 
 a projecting crag, quiet for hours, until a flock of rock- 
 doves or some ducks, are seen flying by. He leaps into the 
 air, vaulting upwards till he has " got the sky " of his prey, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 231 
 
 to a sufficient height for gaining the necessary impetus ; his 
 wings shiver for a moment, as he works himself into a per- 
 fect command and poise, and to the full extent of his energy. 
 Then he dashes downwards with such velocity that the im- 
 pression of his path remains on the sky, like that of the 
 shooting meteor or the flashing lightning, and you fancy 
 there is a torrent of falcons rushing through the air. The 
 stroke is as unerring as the motion is fleet. If it take effect 
 in the body, the bird is trussed, and the hunt is over ; but if 
 a wing only is broken, the maimed bird is allowed to 
 flutter to the earth, and another victim is selected. It some- 
 times happens that some inferior bird of prey comes in for 
 the wounded game ; but in order to get it, he must pro- 
 ceed cautiously and stealthily, for wo betide it if it rises on the 
 wing, and meets the glance of the falcon. The raven him- 
 self, never scoops out another eye, if he rises to tempt that 
 one. This bird is found in Norway, and sometimes in the 
 north of Scotland. In former days they were used in hawk- 
 ing, and, in consequence .of their strength and daring and 
 their unerring stroke, they were more prized in falconry than 
 any other ; but they were difficult to train ; and, conse- 
 quently, in the days of falconry they brought very high 
 prices. The velocity of their flight, as well as that of the 
 peregrine falcon, is put down at one hundred and fifty miles 
 an hour. Compare that to a modern " express train !" 
 How the latter lags behind ! The flight of birds on long 
 journeys is well ascertained, and numerous instances are re- 
 corded of the amazing velocity of falcons. King Henry 
 IV., of France, had a peregrine falcon that flew to Malta, 
 
232 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 thirteen hundred and fifty miles, and arrived there the same 
 day that he left Fontainbleau. Mudie says, the peregrine 
 falcon is the falcon, par excellence, of the falconers, on ac- 
 count of his rapid, powerful flight, great tractability, and 
 other good qualities. 
 
 The falcon, in falconry, always means the female, as 
 they only are trained. The male is called the tercel. In- 
 deed, our Saxon ancestors must have had some lofty sport. 
 Wish I had been there ! The jer-falcon, our Iceland bird, 
 is not by any means confined to his native cliffs. Iceland is 
 four or five hundred miles from Scotland, but only a morn- 
 ing's flight for this fleet traveler ! He could take his break- 
 fast in his native wilds, with the sun high in the heavens, fly 
 over to Scotland, dine on a ptarmigan or a rock-dove, sleep 
 through the heat of the day, and return to Iceland long be- 
 fore sunset. Such is the flight of this powerful, swift- 
 winged bird of prey. 
 
CHAPTEE XXII 
 
 THE FAROE ISLES. 
 
 ■" It is a wild and wondrous scene, 
 
 Where few but nature's footsteps yet have been." 
 
 In our outward as well as return voyage we passed 
 near the Faroe Islands. These, like Iceland, are under the 
 jurisdiction of Denmark, and, though near 300 miles from 
 their northern neighbor, have many features in common 
 with it. The scenery is singularly wild and picturesque. 
 We sailed nearly under some of the tall cliffs, and could 
 plainly see the pillared columns of basalt, so common 
 throughout Iceland and nearly all the northern isles. From 
 conversation with two English gentlemen that I met a short 
 time since, who had just returned from Faroe, where they 
 had been "birds' nesting," * and from one or two authentic 
 narratives, I gathered some interesting particulars of their 
 topography and history. The Faroe Isles are probably less 
 known to modern travelers than any inhabited land in the 
 northern sea. Many there are that visit Greenland — some 
 catchi ng whales and seal ; a few to convert the heathen ; 
 some on a scientific tour ; and, latterly, many in search of a 
 distinguished navigator and the haples screws of two long- 
 
 * Obtaining birds' eggs of every variety that could be had, for 
 an ornithological collection. 
 11 
 
234 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 missing ships — and not unfrequently do civilized men land 
 on the bleak and frozen shores of Spitzbergen; and any 
 one can visit Lapland by steam ; but one may go round the 
 world and not meet a christian man that has stepped on 
 one of the seventeen of the inhabited islands of Faroe. The 
 whole group consists of twenty-five islands, extending about 
 sixty-five miles from north to south, and forty-five from east 
 to west ; and containing a little less than a thousand square 
 miles. They lie between 61° 26" and 62° 25" N. Latitude, 
 and 6° 40" and 1° 40" West Longitude from Greenwich. 
 They are 185 miles northwest of Shetland, and 400 from 
 Norway. This much for their location and size. The sur- 
 face of the different islands varies in appearance consider- 
 ably, but they all have remarkably bold, perpendicular 
 banks. The northeastern one, Fugloe — or Bird-island — is 
 quite flat on the top ; but the banks on every side are high 
 and perpendicular, so that boats must always be raised and 
 lowered with ropes. Oesteroe, the largest but one, is the 
 highest of the entire group, rising 3,000 feet above the level 
 of the sea. On some parts of its precipitous cliffs are majes- 
 tic octagonal pillars of basaltic rock, a hundred feet high 
 and six feet in diameter. Were these in a land of popula- 
 tion and wealth they would undoubtedly be selected by 
 builders, and be seen supporting and adorning the porticoes 
 of temples of Grecian or Roman architecture. One of these 
 pillars, sixty feet in length, has fallen across a deep cha<=m, 
 and forms a natural bridge from one side to the other. 
 Another enormous mass of rock, twenty-four feet long by 
 eighteen broad is so exactly balanced across another that 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 235 
 
 the strength of a finger will vibrate it ; and though the 
 waves have been dashing against it for ages, there it remains, 
 poised on a pivot, like the famous rocking stone in Corn- 
 wall. 
 
 Stromoe, south of Oesteroe, is the largest of the Faroe 
 group, and is 27 miles long by about 7 broad, and contains 
 140 square miles. On this island is Thorshaven, the capi- 
 tal and principal seaport. The Danish post-ship between 
 Denmark and Iceland, lands here twice or three times in a 
 year. Thorshaven has a church, and about 100 dwellings; 
 some of them comfortable framed houses. This important 
 place is well protected by a substantial fort — an excellent 
 fortification, that lacks but one essential article, cannon ! 
 However, there is little chance that they would ever be 
 needed did they have them. Were there any thing here 
 worth the trouble of an invading army or a piratical crew, 
 at the most favorable landing on the islands, the natives 
 would stand a good chance to crush their invaders with 
 their natural means of defense, and keep them off by rolling 
 stones down upon them. But what freaks old nature plays 
 here among these tall cliffs ! What houses for sea-monster s 
 does old ocean create! The island of Nalsoe is pierced 
 from side to side, so that in calm weather a boat can sail 
 through it, under a natural arch, with near 2,000 feet of 
 solid rock overhead. At the northern end of Stromoe is the 
 promontory of Myling, which rises perpendicularly to the 
 height of 2,500 feet. If the spectator had nerve enough, he 
 might go to the brink, and toss a pebble clear into the sea 
 from the lofty summit. One singular rock in this group of 
 
236 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 islands, rises out of the water like a lofty spire, and is called 
 by the natives the Trollekone-finger, or witch's finger. The 
 most western of the islands is Myggeness ; and, though 
 inhabited, is so difficult of access that communication be- 
 tween that and the rest of the group is not usually more 
 than three or four times a year. It is surrounded by preci- 
 pitous cliffs, from 1,200 to 1,400 feet in height; and the pas- 
 sage or north between this and the neighboring island is the 
 most dangerous in the group. Off Myggeness, is Myggeness- 
 holm, — a precipitous rock standing alone in the sea, like a 
 solitary sentinel attendant on the larger isle. Any one who 
 has seen the Meal-sack island off the southwest coast of Ice- 
 land, or the Holm of the Noss in the Shetland group, or 
 Ailsa Craig in the Clyde, will have an idea of the appear- 
 ance of this rocky islet.. This is the only island in the 
 Faroe group where the Gannet, or Solan Goose, builds its 
 nest. The choice of such a location as this, or Ailsa Craig, 
 or the Meal-sack — all favorite localities of this bird — is not 
 altogether from the generally inaccessible nature of the 
 place and its consequent immunity from hostile man — 
 though this is some consideration. These haunts of the gan- 
 net are always near a good " run " of fish, and this is usually 
 where there is a strong flow of the tide between two islands 
 or between an island and the main shore. Graba, a late 
 traveler in Faroe, speaks of landing on the small island of 
 Store Dimon. He says the clergyman visits this island but 
 once a year, and the sides are so steep they have to pull him 
 up with ropes as- they would a bag of meal. When Graba 
 landed, the natives pushed one of their number up the rocks, 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 237 
 
 •with their long sticks that they use in bird-catching, and 
 then he drew up the rest. In this way they all passed from 
 one cliff to another, till they arrived at the top, 250 feet 
 above the water. The steepness of the rock was fully appre- 
 ciated on their return, when a basket of eggs was let down 
 into the boat by a rope. In passing up and down they 
 sometimes walked on a narrow shelf of rock ; and when this 
 ceased, the " highway " was continued by having holes cut 
 in the perpendicular face of the cliff, once in two or three 
 feet, for the fingers and toes. Along this frightful precipice, 
 a drunken native passed in safety with a sack of barley on 
 his back. 
 
 One of the great natural curiosities of the islands, is the 
 Vogelberg ; a terrible chasm, of an elliptical form, almost 
 entirely surrounded by rocks, at least a thousand feet in 
 height. The entrance is by a narrow passage at one end; 
 and here, in this remarkable house, with the sea for a floor 
 and the sky for a roof, are thousands of birds. Sheltered 
 from every wind, the boat glides along with perfect safety. 
 Gulls and guillemots swim by without fear ; the seal looks 
 from his watery cave in fancied security ; and the lazy cor- 
 morant stretches out his neck to scan the appearance of the 
 newly-arrived visitors. Long lines of kittiwakes show their 
 white breasts and dove-like eyes ; from narrow shelves of 
 the rock, nest succeeds nest, and the downy young appear 
 in frightful proximity to the edge of the precipice beneath. 
 The puffins take the highest stations, perhaps because they 
 are puffed up with ideas of their own. importance, being 
 favorites of man, and often captured for their flesh and 
 
238 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 feathers. In sheltered and dark places, will be found the 
 rock-dove; and dashing past like a pirate, is seen the skua, 
 pursuing the gull or the puffin, and striving for a dinner he 
 has never earned. Graba visited this singular place in a 
 boat, accompanied by several natives. He describes the 
 noise made by the innumerable sea-fowl, as almost deaf- 
 ening. Seeing a rare bird that he was desirous of obtaining 
 a specimen of, he raised his gun and fired. " What became 
 of it," says he, " I know not. The air was darkened by the 
 birds roused from their repose. Thousands hastened out of 
 the chasm with a frightful noise, and spread themselves in 
 troops over the ocean. The puffins came wondering from 
 their holes, and regarded the universal confusion with 
 comic gestures ; the kittiwakes remained composedly in 
 their nests ; while the cormorants tumbled headlong into the 
 sea." That was, undoubtedly, the first gun that was ever 
 fired there since the creation of the world. In a little time, 
 the confusion and smoke passed away, and every thing 
 resumed its wonted appearance. 
 
 Suderoe, the most southern of the islands, as indicated 
 by its name, is of very irregular shape, contains about forty- 
 four square miles, and differs materially from the most 
 northern of the group. This island produces more and 
 better grain, is better cultivated, and has some valuable 
 beds of coal. Several kinds of land birds, the lark, the rail, 
 and the swallow, are found in Suderoe, and not in the 
 islands farther north. The natives of Suderoe are said to be 
 more industrious and ingenious, and to speak a language 
 differing considerably from the inhabitants of the other 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND, 239 
 
 islands. Their principal town, Qualhoe, is the finest and 
 best-built village in Faroe. 
 
 The climate of Faroe is much more genial and mild 
 than would be supposed from its latitude, and far less severe 
 in winter than many places in a more southern latitude on 
 the continent of Europe. The curlew and some other birds 
 winter here, while they are not found on the continent, 
 at this season, as far north as Hamburg. The ground 
 is seldom frozen for a month, and snow never falls deep, or 
 lasts over a week at a time. The summer, neither here or 
 in Iceland, is hot, though there are some warm days in July 
 and August. While grain is never grown in Iceland, here 
 they cultivate barley and oats, at a height of from two to six 
 hundred feet above the level of the sea. Grass grows at an 
 elevation of two thousand feet, but a little above that vegeta- 
 tion ceases, and the land is a desert. Sometimes a violent 
 wind occurs, that will roll up the grassy turf like a side 
 of sole leather ; and in this way the tops of some hills get 
 entirely denuded, the turf being carried into the sea. Trees 
 do not grow here ; these islands resembling, in that respect, 
 Iceland, and the groups of Shetland and Orkney. Thunder 
 here, as in Iceland, is heard in winter, but seldom in sum- 
 mer. There are a few lakes in the islands ; Leinumvatn, in 
 Stromoe, being one of the largest. It is in a somber, 
 melancholy-looking valley, and resembles some of the small 
 lakes in the Highlands of Scotland. As in all mountainous 
 and peat districts, there are plenty of springs of fresh water. 
 
 The spoken language of the Faroese resembles that of 
 the Icelanders, but the people have not the same literary 
 
240 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 taste and love of history. Their written language is the 
 Danish. Originally settled from Norway by piratical 
 cruisers, and about the time of the settlement of Iceland, 
 the history of the islands has much in common with the 
 more northern Jand. They paid tribute, or were expected 
 to, to the reigning chief in Norway ; but the latter was very 
 unfortunate in his collection of it. The deputy or collector 
 sent out for this purpose seldom returned, and was rarely or 
 never seen in Norway again. Some, attracted by the inde- 
 pendent bearing of the people, took wives from among the 
 fair Faroese, and settled permanently ; thus paying a very 
 direct and unmistakable compliment to a brave, inde- 
 pendent, and republican people. Others declared them- 
 selves firm and incorruptible, and determined to execute 
 their trust. Marriage is a most excellent institution ; and 
 all the Norwegian collectors who took brides from among 
 the Faroe maidens, found it, no doubt, particularly to their 
 own advantage, and, at the same time, in accordance with 
 the good wishes and prosperity of the islanders themselves. 
 Those who would not accept wives on such fair terms, were 
 never heard of again. Their bones were buried at low 
 tide ! The king of Norway kept sending his deputies to 
 Faroe, and they and their ships disappeared one after 
 another, till finally none of his majesty's subjects would 
 undertake the voyage. At last, Karl Maere, a celebrated 
 pirate, offered his services; left Norway, and arrived at 
 Thorshaven safely. He commenced collecting the tribute, 
 and succeeded until he was himself compelled to pay a 
 capitation tax. He was decapitated, and his companions 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 241 
 
 returned without the money. Had the "wanderer" in 
 Iceland been favored with the office of collector, he might 
 perhaps have visited Faroe ; and, in that case, he probably 
 would not much longer have continued a wandering 
 
 BACHELOR. 
 
CHAPTEK XXIII. 
 
 "Good workmen never quarrel with their tools ; 
 I've got new mythological machinery, 
 And very handsome supernatural scenery." 
 
 The mythology of the Northmen is so intimately con- 
 nected with their literature, that any notice of the one 
 would be incomplete without some reference to the other. 
 The whole system is as complicated and ingenious, and 
 quite as interesting, as the mythology of the Greeks and 
 Romans. At the dawning of time, according to the Scan- 
 dinavian theory, there were two primitive worlds, — Mus- 
 pell, or Muspelheim, and Niflheim. Muspell was located 
 in the south, or above; and Niflheim, below, or in the 
 north. Muspell is the world of light and fire. On its 
 border, guarding it, sits Surtur, the god of the flaming 
 sword, and chief of the chaotic demons. At the period of 
 Ragnarok, or end of time, Surtur comes forth with his 
 flaming falchion, enters the last great battle, vanquishes all 
 the gods, and consumes the universe with fire.* Niflheim, 
 
 * Surtur, as interpreted to me by an intelligent Icelander, 
 corresponds pretty nearly to the evil one, the arch-fiend, and 
 great enemy of mankind. The gods, or ^Esir, protect and defend 
 man ; Surtur is the enemy of them all. The bituminous mineral 
 or mineralized wood found in Iceland, is very inflammable, and 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 243 
 
 or the world below, is the region of cold and darkness ; and 
 in the middle of it is the fountain Hvergelmir, from which 
 flow twelve rivers.* Between Muspell, above, and Niflheim, 
 below, was a wide chaotic space, known as Ginnungagap. 
 In this space, as will be seen, the earth was formed and 
 peopled. The part of Ginnungagap towards the north, was 
 filled with vast piles of congealed vapor from the rivers of 
 Niflheim. The part towards the south was full of sparks 
 from Muspell.f When the congealed vapor was met by the 
 heat and sparks, it melted into drops ; and, " by the might 
 of him who sent the heat," the drops quickened into life, 
 and put on human forin.J This being, so made, was called 
 Ymir ; and from him the Frost-giants are descended. 
 There was also formed from the drops of vapor, a cow named 
 Audhumla, and on the milk of this cow Ymir sul>sisted. 
 From the stones that the cow licked, there sprang a man 
 who was endowed with agility, power, and beauty. This 
 man was called Bur, and he had a son named Bor, who 
 took for his wife Besla, the daughter of the giant Bolthom. 
 
 known as Surturbrand, or the devil's fire. The cave of Surt- 
 shellir, mentioned on page 109, is an illustration of the character 
 of Surtur ; and from this cave, many of the Icelanders to this day 
 believe that Surtur will one day emerge, to destroy the world. 
 
 * The names of these rivers are, Svaul, Gunn)>ra, Fiorm, Finibul, 
 Juilr, SliS, Hrifc, Sylgr, Ylgr, Vifc, Leiptur, and Gioll. 
 
 f These, after the earth was made, became the stars that filled 
 the heavens. 
 
 \ The ingenuity of the heathen could not imagine a world 
 created without the power of a deity. 
 
244 11AM13LES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Bor had three sous, Odin,* Vili, and Ye ; though the two 
 latter are usually considered as attributes of Odin himself. 
 The sons of Bor slew the giant Ymir ; and so much blood 
 flowed from his body, that all the race of Frost-giants were 
 drowned in it, except one — Bergelmir — who, with his wife, 
 escaped on board of his bark. From these two all the 
 Frost-giants, or race of Jotuns, are descended.f 
 
 The sons of Bor dragged the body of Ymir into the 
 middle of Ginnungagap, and from it formed the earth. 
 From his blood they made the ocean, which encompassed 
 the earth on every side, like a broad ring. Out of his flesh 
 they made the land, and from his bones the mountains ; 
 from his hair they formed the trees, and with his teeth and 
 jaws, and some pieces of broken bones, they made stones 
 and pebbles. Of his skull they formed the arched heavens, 
 which they raised over the earth ; and in the four quarters 
 of the heavens, like four sentries on the watch, they placed 
 four dwarfs, — East, West, North, and South J — and there 
 they keep their places, and bear up the sky. The brains of 
 Ymir they threw in the air, and of these the clouds were 
 formed. The earth, or Midgard,§ was represented as level 
 and circular, and midway between Muspell, above, and 
 JSTiflheim, below. Around the outer edge, next to the ocean, 
 the sons of Bor raised a bulwark of Ymir's eyebrows, as a 
 
 * Ofcinn. 
 
 f This seems like a heathen version of the history of Noah and 
 the great flood. 
 
 \ Austri, Vestri, Norfcri, and Sufcri. 
 § MiiSgarfc. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 245 
 
 protection against the Jotuns. Outside of Midgard, flows 
 the great ocean ; and beyond this, in another circle, is 
 Jotunheim,* the land of the Jotuns, a rough mountain 
 waste. 
 
 One of the most intricate and sublime conceptions, 
 is the myth of the ash Yggdrasill. This tree is typical of 
 nature, and intimately connected with and partly supporting 
 the earth. The branches of this tree extend over the whole 
 world, and reach above heaven. It has three roots, which 
 are very wide asunder. One springs from the region of the 
 Frost-giants, in Jotunheim ; the second, from Niflheim ; and 
 the third is in heaven. The second root, in Niflheim, 
 is gnawed by the great dragon Nidhogg ; and under it is 
 the fountain Hvergelmir, whence flow the twelve great 
 rivers. Under the root of the ash that is in heaven, is the 
 holy Urdar-fount, where the gods sit in judgment. Under 
 the root in Jotunheim is Mimir's well, and in this well 
 wisdom lies concealed. All who desire wisdom or knowl- 
 edge, must drink of the water of this well. The Jotuns are 
 represented as older than the gods, and in consequence they 
 look deeper into the past. For this reason, the gods must 
 go to the Jotuns for knowledge. Odin came to Mimir one 
 day, and asked for a draught of water from the well ; but 
 Mimir would not furnish it, till he left one of his eyes 
 in pledge. In the branches of the ash sits an eagle that 
 knows many things; and the squirrel Ratatosk runs up and 
 down the tree, bearing words of strife between the eagle and 
 
 * Yo-tun-hime, or giant's home. 
 
246 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 the dragon Niddhogg at the root. Four harts run over the 
 branches of the tree, and bite off the buds. 
 
 From earth to heaven is a bridge called Bifrost, or the 
 rainbow. Over this bridge the gods ride on horseback, 
 every day, going to and from their judgment-seat in heaven. 
 Their horses all have names. The most celebrated is 
 Sleipnir, the horse of Odin. He is a beautiful gray color, 
 has eight legs, and excells all horses ever possessed by gods 
 or men. This famous steed, as will be seen hereafter, when 
 ridden by Hermod the Nimble, once sprang over the gates 
 of Hel. 
 
 The gods, or race of iEsiR, live in Asgard, a city in 
 heaven, in the center of the universe. Odin, the first and 
 eldest of the ^Esir, is at the head, governs all things, and all 
 the other deities obey him, as children do a father. He is 
 the highest, the supreme deity, and is supposed to be the 
 progenitor of all the other gods ; and, on this account, is 
 called All-father.* Seated on his throne Hlidskjalf, he 
 sees throughout the world, and comprehends all things. 
 His mansion, called Valaskjalf, was built by the gods, and 
 has a roof of pure silver. Odin is represented seated on his 
 throne, with a spear in his right hand, and on each side his 
 two wolves, Geri and Freki. On his shoulders are his two 
 ravens, who fly abroad throughout the earth during the day, 
 and return at night, and give him tidings of all that is 
 going on. They are named Hugin and Munin, or Thought 
 and Memory ; and nothing transpires but what is caught up 
 
 * AlfaSir. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 247 
 
 by them, and whispered in the ear of Odin. All the meat 
 that is set before him, he gives to his wolves, for wine to 
 him is both meat and drink. As related in the Edda :* 
 
 Geri and Freki 
 Feedeth the war-faring, 
 Famed father of hosts ; 
 For 'tis with wine only 
 That Odin, in arms renowned, 
 Is nourished for aye. 
 
 The wife of Odin is Friga the daughter of Fjorgyn ; 
 and from these two are descended the race of the iEsir. 
 Friga foresees the destinies of men, but never reveals what is 
 to come.f 
 
 Thor,J the son, the first-born of Odin and Friga, is " the 
 mightiest of gods and men." He is the god of thunder, is 
 armed with a mallet called Mjolnir, has a belt of strength 
 or prowess, and wears iron gauntlets. His favorite employ- 
 ment is fighting the Jotuns, with whom he is at perpetual 
 war. With his gauntlets on his hands — without which he 
 cannot grasp his weapon — he hurls at them his terrible 
 mallet, and crushes in their skulls. He is favorable to the 
 race of men, and keeps watch in Midgard — the home of 
 man, or Manheim — and defends them from the giants of 
 
 * The Grimnis-mal. 
 
 f A very rare quality for a female, to keep secrets ! 
 \ |)or, supposed to be a contraction of J>onar ; hence his title, 
 the Thunderer. 
 
248 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Jotunheim. He has two sons, Modi and Magni. Thor is 
 represented in a car drawn by two goats ; hence he is called 
 Auku-Thor, or Charioteer Thor.* He is attended by the 
 nimble-footed boy Thjalfi, and the girl Roskva the Quick. 
 
 Thor's home is Thrudvang — the home of strength — and 
 his mansion is called Bilskirnir. This is " the largest house 
 ever built," and contains five hundred and forty halls. 
 Thor's marvelous exploits, his combats with the enemies of 
 mankind— 1 the Jotuns and the Midgard serpent — are favor- 
 ite themes with all the old Icelandic writers. Though Thor 
 is the son of Odin, he is not always considered as his infe- 
 rior. Temples for the separate worship of Thor, and statues 
 dedicated to him, were erected in various parts of Scandi- 
 navia. 
 
 The next god in rank, is Baldur, the second son of 
 Odin.f He is represented as fair in form and feature, as 
 universally beloved, and the mildest, the wisest, and 
 most eloquent of all the JEsir. Such is his nature, that his 
 judgment once pronounced, can never be altered. His hair 
 is supremely fair, and in allusion to it, a beautiful plant that 
 is almost white — the Anthemis Cotula — is called Baldur's 
 Eyebrow. J Baldur dwells in the mansion called Breida- 
 blik, one of the fairest in heaven. Nothing impure or un- 
 
 * It will be observed that Odin and Thor, in their various 
 attributes, are represented much like Saturn and Jupiter. Thor's 
 youthful attendants are like the Hebe and Ganymede of Jove. 
 
 f He is known as Baldur the Good ; and corresponds very 
 nearly to the Apollo of the ancient Greeks. 
 
 % Balldursbra; and so known in Sweden to this day. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 249 
 
 clean can enter it. His wife is Nanna, the daughter of Nep. 
 The myth of Baldur's death, is one of the most beautiful in 
 the Northern Mythology. All the deities, as well as men, 
 joined in his praise ; and at his death, the whole universe 
 was in mourning. 
 
 Forseti, the sun of Baldur and Nanna, is the god of 
 Righteousness, and presides over Justice. He possesses the 
 heavenly mansion called Glitnir, the walls, columns, and 
 beams of which are of solid gold, and the roof pure silver. 
 He reconciles all disputants at law ; those bringing their 
 cases before him never failing to find perfect satisfaction in 
 his decisions.* 
 
 Bragi, the son of Odin, is the god of Poetry : hence the 
 art of poetry is called Bragr. Bragi has a flowing beard,f 
 and is noted for his eloquence, and the correct use of lan- 
 guage. His wife is Iduna, the goddess of Eternal Youth. 
 She is entrusted with the keeping of the apples which the 
 gods, on feeling old, have only to taste, to become young 
 again. 
 
 Mgtr is the deity of the Ocean, though a Jotun, and 
 not reckoned with the iEsir. His wife is Ran ; and with a 
 
 * In this he certainly excels the lawyers and judges of the pres- 
 ent day. 
 
 f There is no account of any of the Scandinavian deities using 
 the razor ; not even the weakest and simplest of them ; that folly 
 being specially reserved for men. Bragi in preserving the manly 
 appendage, the beard, showed himself in this, as in other things, 
 one of the foremost of his race, and a fit associate for superior 
 intelligences. 
 
250 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 net she catches unfortunate mariners. -^Egir entertains all 
 the JS&\r, at a grand feast of the gods given at the autumnal 
 equinox. 
 
 Njord, who dwells in the heavenly region called Noa- 
 tun, rules over the winds and the waves, and checks the fury 
 of the elements, the sea, and the fire. His aid is invoked 
 by fishermen and sea-farers. The wife of Njord is Skadi, 
 the daughter of a Jotun. Njord and Skadi have two chil- 
 dren ; Frey, a son, and a daughter named Freyja. Frey is 
 one of the most celebrated and beloved of all the gods. 
 He rides in a car drawn by a boar, presides over the rain, 
 the sunshine, and the fruits of the earth. His aid is invoked 
 for good harvests, and also for peace ; and he dispenses 
 wealth to those who do him honor.* Frey fell violently in 
 love with Gerda, one of the most beautiful of all the wo- 
 men, and ordered Skirnir, his trusty messenger, to go and 
 ask her hand for him. Skirnir promised to do so if Frey 
 would give him his sword, a weapon of such a rare quality, 
 that it would strew a field with slain, at the bidding of its 
 owner. Impatient for the possession of Gerda, he gave 
 Skirnir the sword ; and afterwards, in a battle with Beli, he 
 slew him with the antlers of a stag. In the last great bat- 
 tle, where all of the gods are engaged, Frey is without a 
 weapon.f 
 
 * A character much like Ceres. 
 
 f In this myth we see a quiet satire on those, who to gratify 
 some darling passion or desire, sacrifice their most valuable pos- 
 sessions. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 251 
 
 Heimdal — called also the White god — is a sacred and 
 powerful deity, the son of nine Jotun virgins, who were sis- 
 ters. He is called Gold-toothed, his teeth being of pure 
 gold. He dwells in Himinbjorg, at the end of Bifrost, and 
 has a famous horse named Gulltopp. He is the warder or 
 sentry of the gods, and therefore was placed on the borders 
 of heaven, to prevent the Jotuns from forcing their way over 
 the bridge. His ear is so acute, that no sound escapes 
 him ; he can even hear the grass grow, or the wool on the 
 backs of sheep. He requires less sleep than a bird, sees a 
 hundred miles around him on every side, and by night as 
 well as by day. In time of danger, or \>hen he wishes to 
 call the gods together, he blows a blast on his Gjallar-horn, 
 that sounds throughout all worlds ; and the gods immediately 
 assemble. 
 
 Hodur is a deity who is blind, but possesses great 
 strength. He is more fully described in the account of Bal- 
 dur's death. 
 
 Vidar, surnamed the Silent, and noted for his heavy 
 shoes, is the son of Odin and the Jotun-woman Grida. He 
 possesses immense strength, being nearly as strong as Thor 
 himself. Great reliance is placed on him in cases of emer- 
 gency. 
 
 Vali, the son of Odin and Rinda, is most valiant in 
 war ; and, in his youth, was as precocious as the Mercury of 
 the ancients. He slew Hodur, the murderer of Baldur, be- 
 fore he was a day old. 
 
 Ullur, the son of Sif, and step-son of Thor, has great 
 skill in the use of the bow. His name signifies the White, 
 
252 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 or the Wool-like. He favors the winter, and travels with 
 great speed on skates and snow shoes. He is very hand- 
 some, has every quality of a warrior, and is often invoked by 
 those who engage in single combat. Vidar and Vali will 
 survive the destruction of the world by the fire of Surtur, 
 and dwell on the plain of Ida, where Asgard formerly stood. 
 Thither shall come to meet them, Modi and Magni, the sons 
 of Thor, bringing with them their father's mallet. 
 
 Of the goddesses, Friga, the wife of Odin, is the high- 
 est. Her mansion is called Fensalir. The next in rank is 
 Saga, the goddess of History. Her house is Sokkvabek, 
 and is of great size. The goddess Eir presides over the art 
 of Healing.* Gefjon is a maid, and all who die maids go 
 to her, and become her hand-maidens. Fulla is also a 
 maid. She has beautiful hair that flows over her shoulders, 
 and a gold ribbon adorns her head. She is an attendant 
 and confidant of Friga, and is entrusted with her secrets. 
 Freyja is the wife of Odur ; and they have a daughter, 
 Hnossa, who is celebrated for her beauty. Odur travels 
 through distant countries ; and, in his absence, Freyja 
 weeps, and her tears are pure gold. As she goes over the 
 world in search of her husband, the people give her differ- 
 ent names. She rides in a chariot drawn by two cats. The 
 goddess Lofna is mild in her demeanor, and takes delight 
 in smoothing the path of lovers, and promoting the success 
 and union of those who are sincerely attached to each other. 
 Vora is a goddess that punishes lovers' false vows and per- 
 
 * A sort of female ^Esculapius. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 253 
 
 juries. Gna is the messenger of Friga, and is sent by her 
 on various errands through different worlds. She has a 
 horse called Hofvarpnir, that can travel through water or air. 
 Besides these, there are many other goddesses whose duty it 
 is to serve in Vallhalla, wait on the gods, take care of their 
 drinking horns, &c. These are called the Valkyrjor.* 
 Odin sends the Valkyrjor to every battle-field, to decide who 
 shall be slain, and declare on which side victory shall rest. 
 They carry the spirits of the slain to Odin, in Valhalla. 
 
 Among the inferior deities are three maidens called 
 Noras. Their names are Urd, Vernandi, and Skuld ; or, Past, 
 Present, and Future. They preside over the birth and desti- 
 nies of men, and determine their fate and length of life. There 
 are also other Norns besides these three. Some of them 
 are of heavenly origin, and dispense good destinies. Others 
 are of the races of elves, or evil spirits ; and men who meet 
 with numerous misfortunes are said to be under the influ- 
 ence of evil Norns. There is also a class of inferior beings 
 known as Dwarfs. They dwell in caves and caverns of the 
 earth. 
 
 * Their names are Geirolul, Goll, Herfjotur, Hildur, Hlokk, 
 Hrist, Mist, Radgrid, Randgrid, Reginlief, Skeggold, Skogul, and 
 |>rudur. 
 
CHAPTEK XXIV. 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY CONCLUDED. ADVENTURES OF 
 
 THOR, AND THE DEATH OF BALDUR. 
 
 Nearly all the deities have been noticed. The origin 
 of night and day, and the sun and moon are thus given. 
 The giant Njorvi, who dwelt in Jotunheim, had a daughter 
 called Night,* who, like all of her race, was of a dark and 
 swarthy complexion. Night married a man named Annar, 
 and had a daughter called Earth .f She next espoused 
 Delling, one of the ^Esir ; and their son was Day,J a child 
 light and beauteous like its father. Odin then gave to 
 Night and her son Day two horses and two cars, and set 
 them up in the heavens, to drive successively one after the 
 other round the world in twelve hours' time. Night goes 
 first, driving the horse Hrimfaxi ; and he, every morn, as he 
 ends his course, bedews the earth with foam that falls from 
 his bit. Day follows with his horse Skinfaxi ; and from his 
 mane light is shed over the earth and the heavens. The 
 man Mundilfari had two children so lovely and graceful 
 that he called the boy Mani (moon), and the girl Sol (sun). 
 The gods, being angry at the man's presumption, placed his 
 children in the heavens. The bright and illuminated car of 
 
 * Not. f Jorfc. % Da g r - 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 255 
 
 the sun, which the gods made out of the sparks that fell 
 from Muspelheim, to give light to the world, was drawn by 
 the horses Arvak and Alsvid, and driven by Sol. Mani was 
 set to direct the moon in his course, and guide his increasing 
 and waning aspect. Two wolves, Skoll and Hati, are con- 
 stantly in pursuit of the sun and moon ; and it is on this 
 account that they fly so swiftly through the heavens. One 
 day these wolves will overtake and devour them. 
 
 One of the gods is named Loki ; and to him is ascribed 
 nearly all the evil that is suffered in the world. He was the 
 calumniator of the iEsir, the contriver of frauds and mis- 
 chief, and the disgrace of both gods and men. He had a 
 terrible offspring by Angurbodi, a giantess of Jotunheim. 
 These were, the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent, and Hela, 
 or Death. The wolf Fenrir could only be fed by Tyr, the 
 god of Bravery, who, as will be seen, was called the one- 
 handed. Tyr is the most daring and intrepid of the gods. 
 He dispenses valor in battle, and his aid is invoked by war- 
 riors. The gods were warned by the oracles, that the 
 power of the wolf was becoming dangerous ; and Tyr at- 
 tempted to make a fetter to bind him. The first trial failed, 
 the wolf snapping the cords asunder as if they had been 
 threads. Tyr next made the fetter called Gleipnir, fashion- 
 ing it out of six things; namely, the noise made out of the 
 foot-fall of a cat, the beards of women, the roots of stones, 
 the sinews of bears, the breath of fish, and the spittle of birds. 
 Though this cord was as fine and soft as silk, the wolf would 
 not consent to be bound with it, unless Tyr would let 
 him take one of his hands in his mouth. To this he con- 
 sented ; and the gods then bound the wolf; and, finding be 
 
256 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 could not free himself by breaking the fetter, he revenged 
 himself by biting off the right hand of Tyr. When the off- 
 spring of Loki were born, Odin sent for them ; and after 
 having the wolf put in fetters, threw the Midgard serpent 
 into the ocean that surrounded the earth. Here the mon- 
 ster grew to such size that he encircled the whole earth, 
 with his tail in his mouth. Hela (Death) was cast by Odin 
 into Niflheim ; and her abode is known as Helheim, or Hel. 
 Her habitation is surrounded by exceedingly high walls, and 
 strongly-barred gates. Her hall is called Elvidmir; Hun- 
 ger is her table ; Starvation, her knife ; Delay, her man ; 
 Slowness, her maid ; Precipice, her threshold ; Care, her 
 bed ; and Burning Anguish forms the hanging of her apart- 
 ments. 
 
 The spirits of those who fell in battle, were carried at 
 once to Odin, in Valhalla — the hall of the slain ; and on 
 this account Odin is called Val-father, or father of the slain. 
 Those who die a natural death, or of old age, were taken to 
 Hel. These abodes, however, were not of eternal duration, 
 but only continued until Ragnarok — the final judgment and 
 destruction of the earth and all material things. Valhalla 
 is not represented as a place of unalloyed happiness, nor 
 Hel of continued misery ; yet the former was far the most 
 desirable abode. The joys of Valhalla are imagined and 
 pictured on the basis of all our ideas of happiness in another 
 world — the highest degree of felicity known in this.* 
 
 * The learned and enlightened Christian imagines Heaven as a 
 place or state of being, where evil, sin, and pain are unknown ; and 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 257 
 
 The joys and employments in Valhalla, will consist of 
 eating, drinking, and fighting. The spirits of the slain will 
 roam through the vast hall, and eat and drink with the 
 JEsir. The whole celestial banquet will consist of ale, and 
 the flesh of one wild boar, which, being cut off every day, 
 renews itself every night. The goddesses, or women, wait 
 at table, and fill the drinking horns. When the morning 
 repast is over, they all ride out into the plain, and fight, and 
 cut one another to pieces. They are, however, perpetually 
 renewed ; and, towards evening, all resume their usual form, 
 and return to drink ale together. Valhalla was of immense 
 size, had five hundred and forty doors, and was spacious 
 
 where the celestial employments will consist of investigating the 
 works of the Creator, and glorifying his name. The poor Indian 
 dreams of pleasant huntiDg-grounds — some happy island in the 
 watery waste — and thinks, 
 
 " admitted to that equal sky, 
 
 His faithful dog shall bear him company." 
 
 An old lady who had just " experienced religion," was asked 
 what she thought would be the employments of the good in 
 heaven ; or how they would pass their time. She replied, that 
 she thought she would be permitted to sit all day, in a clean, white 
 aproD, and sing psalms. We need not smile at the simplicity of 
 the good old dame ; for, is it not probable that the celestial labors 
 and enjoyments will as far exceed the ideas of the most learned 
 Christian, as his imagination goes beyond that of the good woman, 
 or the rude joys of the unlettered savage ? 
 12 
 
258 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 enough to contain the iEsir, ancT all the brave spirits that 
 Odin called to him from earth. In all the accounts of Hel 
 and Valhalla, to be found in the ancient Eddas, there is 
 nothing that goes to prove that the Scandinavians believed 
 in a place of eternal punishment. One or two brief passa- 
 ges from the Younger Edda are quoted, to show that such 
 was the case ; but these are proved to have been interpola- 
 tions in the manuscript of the Edda, by a modern christian 
 writer. 
 
 An early period is spoken of, called the Golden Age. 
 Odin had constructed a court, or hall, of great magnificence. 
 It was resplendent on all sides, within and without, with the 
 finest gold. He appointed rulers or judges, to judge with 
 him the fate of men ; and in the hall he had twelve seats 
 for them, besides his own throne. This court of justice was 
 called Gladsheim. Another edifice, a very fair structure, 
 was erected for the goddesses. This was called Vingolf. 
 Lastly, a smithy was built, and furnished with hammers, 
 tongs, anvils, and all manner of tools for working in wood, 
 stone, and metal. All the movable things belonging to the 
 gods, were made of gold ; and from this the period was 
 known as the Golden Age. 
 
 The age lasted until women arrived from Jotunheim, 
 and corrupted it. 
 
 The exploits of Thor form the subjects of the most 
 lengthy and characteristic legends in the mythology of the 
 Scandinavians. At one time iEgir, the ocean deity, enter- 
 tained all the gods in Asgard, giving them a great feast, at 
 the period of the autumnal equinox. He furnished enough 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 259 
 
 to eat, but drink was greatly wanting* ; for he had no vessel 
 large enough to brew ale for such a numerous company. 
 Thor hearing that the giant Hymir owned a famous caul- 
 dron of great size, he, in company with Tyr, set out for 
 Jotunheim, to obtain it, determined either by fair means or 
 foul to carry it away. After various adventures he gets it, 
 claps it on his head like a huge hat, and walks off with it, 
 the ears of the cauldron reaching down to his heels ! The 
 giants follow and attack him ; but he slays them all with 
 his terrible mallet. Having obtained the cauldron, ^Egir 
 brewed as much ale as was required ; and Loki, Thor, and 
 all the company, have a regular drinking bout. It ended 
 as such scenes usually do — in a fight ; and Loki killed one 
 of ^Egir's servants, for which he was expelled by the gods, 
 and kicked out of doors. He was afterwards, however, 
 restored to his place. 
 
 Thor and Loki had a famous journey to Jotunheim ; the 
 land of the giants. Thor, as usual, rode in his car drawn 
 by two goats; and when night came they put up at the 
 cottage of a peasant, both the travelers assuming the form 
 and costume of men. Thor killed his goats, and after flay- 
 ing them, put them in a kettle to cook for their supper, and 
 asked the peasant and his family to partake with him. 
 The peasant's son was named Thjalfi, and the daughter 
 Roskva. Thor told them to throw all the bones into the 
 goats' skins, which were spread out on the floor ; but Thjalfi 
 broke one of the bones to get at the marrow. The next 
 morning, Thor raised his mallet, consecrated the goats' skins, 
 and they instantly assumed their usual form, alive and well 
 and ready to pursue the journey ; but one of the goats was 
 
260 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 found to be lame in one leg. To appease the anger of 
 Thor, the peasant offered any thing he possessed as a com- 
 pensation. Thor chose both his children ; and ever after 
 Thjalfi the Nimble and Roskva the Quick were his attend- 
 ants. They then continued their journey, passed out of 
 Mannheim, crossed a broad ocean, and entered a deep forest. 
 They saw a large hall, and, entering it, went to sleep in a 
 deep room at one end. During the night, there was an 
 earthquake and a terrible roaring, which shook the whole 
 edifice. In the morning they found a giant of enormous 
 size, sleeping and snoring near them; and the vast edifice 
 was his glove which he had thrown off, and they had slept 
 in the. thumb of it. The giant's name was Skrymir, and 
 when he awoke he knew Thor at once and called him by 
 name. He offered to carry the wallet of provisions and 
 relieve Thjalfi, and after breakfast they journeyed together. 
 Thor, wishing to get rid of his new fellow-traveler, when 
 night arrived, hurled his mallet at him after he was asleep ; 
 and it was buried deep in his skull. Waking up, the giant 
 asked if a leaf had fallen on his head. He slept again, and 
 Thor made two more efforts — once his mallet going deep 
 into his cheek ; and again, burying it in his head up to the 
 handle. The giant merely put up his hand and asked if a 
 bit of moss or an acorn had fallen on him. He soon, how- 
 ever, left, Thor, and pursued his journey to the north. The 
 travelers arrived at the city of Utgard, situated in a vast 
 plain, and immediately paid their respects to Utgard-Loki, 
 the king. His majesty looked at the Thunderer with great 
 contempt, called him a stripling, and said if he was not mis- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 261 
 
 taken it must be Aku-Thor. The kino; challenged Thor 
 and his companions to try various feats of skill and strength 
 with his subjects, the giants of Jotunheim. Loki sat down 
 to a trough filled with meat, and eat a race with a giant ; 
 but he got vanquished, his competitor eating the most, and 
 swallowing bones and all. Thor then produced Thjalfi to 
 run a race, and he was completely distanced. Thor him- 
 self then attempted a drinking bout with the giants ; but 
 at three long pulls he could not empty a single horn. He 
 then tried his hand at lifting ; but though the giants only 
 furnished a common gray cat to be lifted, Thor could not 
 raise him from the ground, only lifting one foot a short dis- 
 tance. Then he tried wrestling; but though his competitor 
 was a wrinkled old woman, he could not throw her, but 
 came near being thrown himself. Thor confessed that he 
 was vanquished, and turned his steps away, being accompa- 
 nied without the walls of the city by his majesty Utgard- 
 Loki, in person. Then the king tells Thor that, if he has 
 his way, the god shall never come into his place again, for 
 he fears him and only got the better of him that time by 
 stratagem. He said it was he that met him in the forest, 
 and he had a mountain before him when he slept ; and if 
 Thor would see it on his return, he would observe two deep 
 vallies where he buried his mallet, while he thought he 
 struck Utgard himself. The two immense glens that could 
 be seen in the mountain were but the ^ints of Trior's mallet. 
 In the contest of eating, the competitor of Loki was Fire itself, 
 that consumed all before it. Thjalfi ran a race with Hugi 
 — Thought — which flies faster than the fleetest being that 
 
262 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 • 
 
 is created. The old woman who wrestled with Thor was 
 Old Age, which could in time lay every thing low. What 
 appeared to be a cat, was the great Midgard serpent, that 
 encompassed the whole earth. The horn he drank from 
 extended to the sea itself ; and in this he performed a most 
 prodigious feat, for he settled it greatly, as could be seen, 
 and which was called the ebb. Thor, on hearing how he 
 had been vanquished by stratagem, raised his mallet to 
 strike down the giant ; but on turning, he had disappeared, 
 and, instead of a city near by, he saw nothing but a vast 
 plain. This was the end of Thor's adventures in Jotun- 
 heim. Then to reestablish his reputation, Thor went out 
 to fish for the great Midgard serpent. He took no compa- 
 nions, not even his car or goats. He traveled in the guise 
 of a young man, and put up at the house of a giant 
 named Hymir, who was going fishing ; and he asked Thor 
 to provide some bait. He went into a herd of the giant's 
 oxen, and seizing the largest bull, wrung off" his head ; and 
 returning with it, the two put off to sea together. They 
 rowed much further than the giant had ever gone before ; 
 and Thor, baiting a hook and line of great strength with the 
 head of the bull, cast it out. The Midgard serpent imme- 
 diately swallowed it, and Thor drew upon him. The scene 
 was now most dreadful. Thor pulled so hard that his feet 
 broke through the boat, and went down to the bottom of 
 the sea. Thor darte<? looks of ire at the serpent, and he in 
 turn spouted floods of venom upon him. The giant turned 
 pale with fright, took out his knife and cut the line, when 
 the serpent sunk under water. Thor then grasped his mal- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 263 
 
 let and hurled it at the monster ; but he was low down in 
 the sea, and escaped, though some say his head was struck 
 off at the bottom of the ocean. Thor then, with his fist, 
 hit the giant a blow under the ear that knocked him out of 
 sight ; and then, with rapid strides, he waded ashore. 
 
 Baldur the Good having dreamed that harm was to 
 come to him, Friga, his mother, hearing of it, exacted an 
 oath from every thing, animate and inanimate, stones, trees, 
 fire, metals, and all living things, that they would not hurt 
 Baldur. One thing only was omitted — the misletoe. It was 
 then a favorite amusement for Baldur to stand up, and 
 have the JEsir throw at him their darts, javelins, battle-axes, 
 and other missiles ; for none could harm him. Loki, under 
 the guise of an old woman, hearing that the misletoe had 
 not taken the oath, gathered a branch, and calling Hodur, 
 the blind god, told him to hurl it at Baldur, saying he 
 would guide his arm, and it being only a twig, it could not 
 hurt him. Hodur threw it, under the guidance of Loki ; 
 and Baldur the Good was slain. The gods were speechless 
 with horror, looked at each other, and broke out into violent 
 lamentations of grief. Odin was most sensible of the great 
 loss the ^Esir had suffered ; and Friga asked who would 
 gain her love and good will by riding to Hel, and trying to 
 find Baldur, and offer to Hela a ransom for his return to 
 Asgard. Hermod offered his services, and left, mounted on 
 Odin's famous horse, Sleipnir. While Hermod was on this 
 mission, Baldur's body was borne to the sea shore to be 
 burnt. His ship Hringhorn, the largest in the world, was 
 required for a funeral pile ; but no one could move it, till 
 
264 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 they sent to Jotunheim for a famous giantess named 
 Hyrrokin. She came mounted on a wolf, with twisted 
 serpents for a bridle, and with one push moved the vessel as 
 they wanted it. Baldur's body was borne to the funeral 
 pile on board the ship; and the ceremony had such an 
 effect on Nanna, that she died of grief, and her body was 
 burned on the same pile with her husband's. Thor 
 hallowed the pile with his mallet, and during the ceremony 
 kicked a dwarf into the fire, because he ran before him. 
 At Baldur's obsequies was a vast concourse. First, there 
 was Odin, with Friga, the valkyrjor, and his ravens ; then 
 Frey, in his car drawn by the boar with golden bristles. 
 Heimdall rode his horse, Gulltopp ; Freyja drove in her 
 chariot drawn by cats. There were also present many 
 Frost-giants and giants of the mountains. Baldur's horse, 
 fully caparisoned, was burned along with the body of his 
 master. 
 
 Hermod pursued his journey till he arrived at the gates 
 of Hel, and found them barred. He alighted, tightened the 
 girths, mounted, put spurs to the horse, and at one leap 
 sprang over the gate without touching. He found Baldur 
 occupying the most distinguished seat in the hall ; and after 
 spending a night with him, asked Hela (death) to let 
 Baldur return to Asgard. She said she would consent 
 to it, provided Baldur was so beloved that every thing 
 would weep for him. Hermod then returned, bearing a 
 gold ring as a present to Odin from Baldur, and some 
 valuable gifts from Nanna to Friga. Every thing wept for 
 Baldur, except one old woman, who refused. This was 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 205 
 
 found to be Loki in disguise, who never ceased to work evil 
 among the -^Esir. To escape the wrath of the gods, Loki 
 changed himself into a salmon, was pursued down a river, 
 and in leaping a net was caught by Thor in his hands. The 
 gods then confined him in a cavern, with a serpent directly 
 over him ; and as the venom drops on him, he writhes and 
 howls, and this makes that shaking of the earth that men 
 call earthquakes. Loki's two children were taken, and one 
 changed to a wolf; and he immediately devoured the other. 
 The end of all material things is known as Ragnarok, — 
 the twilight of the gods, and conflagration of the universe. 
 The world becomes corrupt; a wolf devours the sun, and 
 another wolf the moon ; trees fall, and mountains tumble to 
 pieces. The wolf Fenrir opens his enormous mouth, the 
 lower jaw being on the earth, and the upper reaching to 
 heaven ; the Midgard serpent gains the land, and heaven is 
 cleft in twain. The sons of Muspell ride through the breach, 
 led by Surtur, in the midst of flaming fire. Bifrost breaks 
 in pieces, and a vast assemblage gathers on the battle-field of 
 Vigrid, which is a hundred miles long. Heimdall stands 
 up, and, with all his might, blows a blast on the Gjallar- 
 horn, which arouses all the gods. Odin asks advice of 
 Mimir; the ^Esir, and all the heroes of Valhalla, led by the 
 All-father, go forth to the field of battle. The ash, Yggdra- 
 sill, begins to shake ; a dissolution of all things is at hand. 
 Odin places himself against the wolf Fenrir, and Thor en- 
 counters the Midgard serpent. Frey meets Surtur, and they 
 exchange terrible blows; but Frey falls, as he has been with- 
 12* 
 
266 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 out his trusty sword ever since he fell in love with Gerda. 
 The dog, Garm, that had been chained in a cave, breaks 
 loose, and attacks Tyr, and they kill each other. Thor slays 
 the Midgard serpent, thereby gaining great renown; but, 
 retiring nine paces, he falls dead on the spot, being suffoca- 
 ted with the venom that the dying serpent throws over him. 
 Odin is swallowed by the wolf; and Vidar, coming up, with 
 his foot on the lower jaw and his hand on the upper, he tears 
 the animal's jaws apart, and rends him till he dies. Loki 
 and Heimdall fight, and kill each other. This most terrible 
 battle being over, Surtur darts fire and flame over the world, 
 and the whole universe is consumed by it. A heaven, and 
 many abodes, both good and bad, are supposed to exist after 
 this ; for the spirits of all who have lived are immortal. A 
 new earth, most lovely and verdant, shall rise out of the sea, 
 and grain shall grow unsown. During the conflagration, a 
 woman named Lif (Life) and a man named Lifthrasir, lie 
 concealed in Hodmimir's forest. They feed on morning 
 dew, and their descendants soon cover the earth again. Vi- 
 dar and Vali survive the conflagration, and dwell on the plain 
 of Ida, where Asgard formerly stood. Thither went the 
 sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, carrying with them their 
 father's mallet, Mjolnir. Baldur and Hodur repaired thither 
 from the abode of death (Hel) and there they hold converse 
 on their past perils and adventures. A famous ship, called 
 Skidbladnir, is spoken of, that is so large that it would hold 
 all the .iEsir, and their weapons. It was built by the 
 dwarfs, and presented to Frey; and, being constructed of 
 
I 
 
 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 267 
 
 many pieces and with great skill, when not wanted Frey 
 could fold it up like a piece of cloth and put it in his pocket. 
 In the language of the Edda, 
 
 r 
 
 The ash, Yggdrasill, 
 Is the first of trees ; 
 As Skidbladnir of ships, 
 Odin of iEsir, 
 Sleipnir of steeds, 
 Bifrost of bridges, 
 Bragi of bards, 
 Habrok of hawks, 
 And Garm of hounds, is. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EARLY LITERATURE OF THE ICELANDERS EDDAS AND 
 
 SAGAS MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PERIOD EX- 
 TRACTS FROM THE POETIC EDDA. 
 
 According to the system of the Northmen, man and 
 woman nvere the last and most perfect productions of the 
 creative power. After the ^Esir, the Jotuns and the Dwarfs 
 had a being. Odin and two other deities were walking on 
 the sea-shore, and came to two trees, and from them they 
 made the first man* Ask, and the first woman, Embla. 
 They had allotted to them, for a residence, Midgard, which, 
 from being the home of man, was called Mannheim ; and 
 from these two, Ask and Embla, are descended the whole 
 human race. Some time after this, Heiradal, the warder 
 and trumpeter of the gods, wandered over the earth under 
 the name of Rigr. He was received and hospitably entertained 
 by the descendants of Ask and Embla ; first by Ai — Great 
 Grandfather, — and Edda — Great Grandmother, — who dwelt 
 in a lowly hut ; next by Afi — Grandfather, — and Anuria — 
 Grandmother, — living in a comfortable habitation ; and, 
 lastly, by Father and Mother,* who occupied a splendid 
 mansion. The deity, by his beneficent presence, infuses a 
 
 * Fa5ir and Mo5ir. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 269 
 
 vital energy into his hosts ; and, in due time after his de- 
 parture, Edda, Amraa, and Mother, each give birth to a son. 
 The infants are sprinkled with water at the moment of their 
 birth : Edda's son is called Thrsell — Thrall; Amma's, Karl — 
 Churl; and Mother's, Jarl, or Noble ; and these three, 
 Thrall, Churl, and Noble, have each a numerous offspring. 
 Here is an aristocratic explanation of the three castes that 
 appear, at an early period, to have formed the frame-work of 
 Scandinavian society, — the thralls, or slaves ; the churls, or 
 free peasants — odalsmen, as they were afterwards termed ; 
 and the nobles. The poet, in his Edda,* describes the 
 thralls as having black hair, an unsightly countenance, un- 
 couth appearance, and of low and deformed stature ; physio- 
 logical traits characteristic of the Lapps, who were probably 
 reduced to a state of vassalage by their Scandinavian con- 
 querors. The destiny of the thralls is to toil incessantly, in 
 order that by their labor the churls may obtain sufficient 
 produce from the earth to enable the nobles to live with 
 becoming splendor. The poet shows his contempt for this 
 class, by giving Thrall's sons such names as Frousy, Stumpy, 
 Plumpy, Sootyface, Slowpace, Homespun, &c, and calling 
 his daughters Lazy body, Cranefoot, Smoky nose, and Tear- 
 clout. Among the churls, sons of Karl, we find such names 
 as Stiffbeard, Husbandman, Holder (of land), and Smith ; 
 the daughters being designated Prettyface, Svvanlike, Blithe- 
 speech, Chatterbox, &c. The poet, though, reserves the 
 most of his eloquence for the nobles, who, he says, have fair 
 
 * The Rigsmdl, a poem of the Mythic-ethnologic class. 
 
2*70 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 hair, a clear complexion, and fine piercing eyes ; their sole 
 avocations being to wield the sword, dart the javelin, rein 
 the fiery steed, chase the deer, and other elegant amusements, 
 which Jarl's descendants still delight to astonish the churls 
 with. Jarl— equivalent to Earl — marries Erna — Lively — 
 the daughter of Hersir — Baron ; but the poet only gives the 
 names of the sons; names that usually designate relation- 
 ship, as Cousin, Nephew, &c. 
 
 The literary history of Iceland, in the early ages of the 
 republic, is of a most interesting character. When we con- 
 sider the limited population of the country, and the many 
 disadvantages under which they labored, their literature is 
 the most remarkable on record. The old Icelanders, from 
 the tenth to the sixteenth century, through a period in the 
 history of the world when little intellectual light beamed 
 from the surrounding nations, were as devoted and ardent 
 workers in the fields of history and poetry as any commu- 
 nity in the world, under the most favorable circumstances. 
 Previous to the present century, the learned world seemed 
 to consider the writings of the Icelanders as almost unwor- 
 thy of notice. With the discovery through old manuscripts 
 that the early voyages of the Icelanders extended to the 
 American coast, there was an interest aroused, and curiosity 
 was excited to learn the entire history of this energetic and 
 intellectual race. Springing from the old Norse, or Norwe- 
 gian stock, they carried the language and habits of their 
 ancestors with them to their island home. During a period 
 of nearly one thousand years, since the first settlement of the 
 country, the Icelandic has undergone less change — with 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 271 
 
 perhaps one exception — than any language now spoken. 
 Though a very large number of our English words are de- 
 rived direct from the Icelandic, yet the most learned and 
 indefatigable of our lexicographers, both in England and 
 America, have acknowledged their ignorance of this lan- 
 guage. Through the labors of Professors Rask, Rafn, and 
 Miiller, M. Mallett, Mr. Finn Magnusen, and others, the lan- 
 guage and literature of .this country is now open to us. 
 
 The writings of the early Icelanders are principally 
 Eddas and Sagas. The Eddas are the heroic poems of the 
 day, and describe the deeds and prowess of heroes and war- 
 riors ; and some of them abound in mythological machinery 
 to an extent quite equal to the writings of Homer and Yirgil. 
 The two principal Eddas are known as the Poetic, or Elder 
 Edda, and the Younger, or Prose Edda. The Sagas are 
 historical writings, give a picture of the public and private 
 life of the Icelanders, their manners and customs, feuds, com- 
 bats, voyages, and discoveries, biography of eminent persons, 
 and such a description of their national and social state, as 
 enables us to see the character and habits of the people 
 during the early years of the Icelandic Republic. 
 
 The Elder Edda consists of thirty -nine poems, and is 
 ascribed to S^emund Sigfusson, surnamed Frode, or, " the 
 learned." He flourished at the close of the eleventh, and 
 beginning of the twelfth century ; was educated at the Uni- 
 versities of France and Germany, and returned to Iceland, 
 and became the parish priest of Oddi, a village near the foot 
 of Mt. Hekla. He devoted himself to the education of 
 youth, deciphering Runic manuscripts, and the cultivation of 
 
272 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 letters. Some suppose that he was only the author of one 
 of these poems ; that he found the others in manuscript, or 
 obtained them from oral tradition. In proof of this, one 
 only — the Solar-ljoth — Lay of the Sun — contains the least 
 allusion to Christianity. All the others bear marks of greater 
 antiquity than the eleventh century. 
 
 The Prose, or Younger Edda, was written many years 
 subsequent to the Elder Edda. It contains a complete sys- 
 tem of Scandinavian Mythology, all, or nearly all, derived 
 from the Elder. 
 
 The account of the Mythology of the Northmen in the 
 former chapters, is principally from Mallett's account of the 
 younger Edda, — Bishop Percy's translation. Snorri Sturla- 
 son, one of the most remarkable men in the annals of Ice- 
 land, is said to be the writer and compiler of the younger 
 Edda. The prominent incidents of his life give a striking 
 picture of the manners of the age in which he lived. This 
 was several generations later than the time of Ssemund 
 Frode. Snorri was born at Hvam, in Myra Sysla, in the 
 year 1178. He was a historian and poet, as well as a pow- 
 erful political chieftain, and at one time the wealthiest man 
 in Iceland. During his life he was twice elected Supreme 
 Magistrate, or President of the Republic. At three years of 
 age, he was taken into the care of John Lopston, of Oddi, 
 grandson of Ssemund Frode, and lived with him till he was 
 twenty years of age. He flourished in a stormy period, and 
 led a turbulent and ambitious life. He received an excellent 
 education from his foster-father, and turned every favorable 
 circumstance to his own advantage. Appreciating the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 273 
 
 adage, that "money is power," be marrried Herdisa, the 
 daughter of a priest called Bersi the Rich — a very enviable 
 surname, which, no doubt, enabled the reverend gentleman to 
 brave the bulls and decrees of popes and councils, and take 
 to himself a wife — who brought him a very considerable 
 fortune. If we judge by the career of Snorri, Christianity 
 had not, at this period, much improved the character of the 
 Icelanders. We have the same turbulent and sanguinary 
 scenes, the same loose conduct of the women, and the perfidy 
 and remorseless cruelty of the men, as in Pagan times. 
 Snorri lived twenty-five years with Herdisa, obtained a di- 
 vorce, married a rich heiress, quarreled with a son and 
 daughter of his first wife respecting pecuniary matters, had a 
 number of illegitimate, or, rather, adulterine children, and 
 was finally murdered by three of his sons-in-law and a step- 
 son. Three of his illegitimate daughters were married to 
 men of rank, and in more respects than one, were like the 
 daughters of Lear. Their husbands were obliged to get rid 
 of them by suing for legal divorces, on account of their loose 
 conduct. One of them, Ingjibjorg, married a second time, 
 but was again divorced, and became notorious, even in Ice- 
 land, for her debaucheries.* By his marriages, his learning 
 shrewdness, and ambition, Snorri became the most wealthy 
 and powerful man in the country, and, for some time the 
 political head of the state. We are told that sometimes he 
 made his appearance at the national assembly with eight or 
 nine hundred men in his train. His ambition was literary, 
 
 * Mallet 
 
274 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 as well as political, and bis celebrity was not confined to bis 
 own country. He visited Norway, composed and recited a 
 poem in praise of Hacon, a powerful jarl ; and strengthened 
 his position at borne by an alliance With neighboring chiefs 
 on the continent. Like the emperors of Rome, he con- 
 structed a sumptuous bath of cut stone and cement, which, 
 to this day, is called Snorri-laug, or Snorri's Bath. It is 
 circular, and spacious enough to swim in. It is supplied 
 with hot water from a spouting fountain or geyser, by a con- 
 duit over five hundred feet in length. Though more than 
 six hundred years have passed since it was built, it is in good 
 repair at the present day, and has been used as a temporary 
 bathing-place by some modern travelers. 
 
 After a period of unexampled prosperity, Snorri began 
 to experience the frowns of fortune. His avarice, ambition, 
 and turbulent disposition, made him unpopular at home, 
 and embroiled him in quarrels with neighboring chiefs and 
 rulers. Gissur Thorvaldsen, formerly his son-in-law, was 
 ordered by Hacon, king of Norway, to make him a prisoner, 
 and bring him before the king ; and if he could not take him 
 alive, to bring him dead. Having an eye on his estates, 
 Thorvaldsen assassinated him, on the night of the 22d of 
 September, 1241, and immediately took possession of his 
 property. Snorri fell in the 63d year of his age. A letter 
 in the Runic character, was sent to him, a few hours before 
 his death, warning him of his danger ; but we are told, not- 
 withstanding his great learning and extensive acquaintance 
 with the antiquities and literature of the country, that he 
 could not decipher it. In addition to his poetical and other 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 2*75 
 
 works, he was author and compiler of the Heimskringla, or 
 ** Chronicle of the Kings of Norway," a historical work of 
 great interest and celebrity. 
 
 A bare recital of the titles of the different poems forming 
 the Eddas, would be of little interest. One was entitled 
 the Voluspa — Volo-spa, The Song of the Prophetess. 
 Another is the Hava-mal* and contains a complete code of 
 Odinic morality ; and, as will be seen by the following ex- 
 tracts, translated by Bishop Percy, are, many of them, wor- 
 thy of a christian age and a christian people. We will 
 close this chapter, and our account of the Literature and 
 Mythology of the early Icelanders, by the following quota- 
 tions from the Old Eddaic poem, the Havamal : 
 
 1. Consider and examine well all your doors before you 
 venture to stir abroad ; for he is exposed to continual dan- 
 ger, whose enemies lie in ambush, concealed in his court. 
 
 3. To the guest who enters your dwelling with frozen 
 knees, give the warmth of your fire ; he who hath traveled 
 over the mountains, hath need of food and well-dried gar- 
 ments. 
 
 4. Offer water to him who sits down at your table ; for 
 he hath occasion to cleanse his hands ; and entertain him 
 honorably and kindly, if you would win from him friendly 
 words, and a grateful return. 
 
 5. He who traveleth hath need of wisdom. One may 
 
 * 31al, song, discourse, speech, a word cognate with the Anglo- 
 Saxon mal, meet, the Greek peXos, &Q. Hava-mal signifies the dis- 
 course or canticle of the sublime; i. e. deity. Odin himself was 
 supposed to have given these precepts of wisdom to mankind. 
 
276 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 do at home whatsoever one will ; but he who is ignorant of 
 good manners, will only draw contempt upon himself when 
 he comes to sit down with men well instructed. 
 
 1. He who goes to a feast where he is not expected, 
 either speaks with a lowly voice, or is silent ; he listens 
 with his ears, and is attentive with his eyes ; by this he ac- 
 quires knowledge and wisdom. 
 
 8. Happy he who draws upon himself the applause and 
 benevolence of men ! for whatever depends upon the will of 
 others, is hazardous and uncertain. 
 
 10. A man can carry with him no better provision for 
 his journey, than the strength of understanding. In a for- 
 eign country, this will be of more use to him than treasures ; 
 and will introduce him to the table of strangers. 
 
 12-13. A man cannot carry a worse custom with him to 
 a banquet, than that of drinking too much ; the more the 
 drunkard swallows the less is his wisdom, till he loses his 
 reason. The bird of oblivion sings before those who inebri- 
 ate themselves, and steals away their souls. 
 
 16. A coward thinks he shall live forever, if he can but 
 keep out of the reach of arms ; but though he should es- 
 cape every weapon, old age, that spares none, will give him 
 no quarter. 
 
 ] 7. The gluttonous man, if he is not upon his guard, 
 eats his own death ; and the gluttony of a fool makes the 
 wise man laugh. 
 
 2 1 . The flocks know when to return to the fold, and to 
 quit the pasture ; but the worthless and the slothful know 
 not how to restrain their gluttony. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 277 
 
 22. The lewd and dissolute man makes a mock of every 
 thing ; not considering how much he himself is the object 
 of derision. No one ought to laugh at another until he is 
 free from faults himself. 
 
 23. A man void of sense ponders all night long, and 
 his mind wanders without ceasing; but when he is weary at 
 the point of day, he is nothing wiser than he was over 
 night. 
 
 32. Many are thought to be knit in the ties of sincere 
 kindness ; but when it comes to the proof, how much are 
 they deceived ! Slander is the common vice of the age. 
 Even the host backbites his guest. 
 
 37. One's own home is the best home, though never so | 
 small. Every thing one eats at home is sweet. He who 
 lives at another man's table, is often obliged to wrong his 
 palate. 
 
 41. Let friends pleasure each other reciprocally with 
 presents of arms and habits. Those who give and those 
 who receive, continue a long time friends, and often give 
 feasts to each other. 
 
 43. Love both your friends and your friends' friends ; 
 but do not favor the friend of your enemies. 
 
 45. Hast thou a friend whom thou canst not well trust, 
 but wouldst make him useful to thee ; speak to him with 
 bland words, but think craftily, and thus render him levity 
 for lies. 
 
 47. When I was young, I wandered about alone ; I 
 thought myself rich if I chanced to light upon a companion. 
 A man gives pleasure to another man. 
 
278 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 51. Peace, among the perfidious, continues for five 
 nights to shine bright as a flame ; but when the sixth night 
 approaches, the flame waxes dim, and is quite extinguished ; 
 hen all their amity turns to hatred. 
 
 55. Let not a man be over wise ; neither let him be 
 more curious than he ought. Let him not seek to know his 
 destiny, if he would sleep secure and quiet. 
 
 67. They invite me up and down to feasts, if I have only 
 need of a slight breakfast: my faithful friend is he who 
 will give me one loaf when he has but two. 
 
 70. Whilst we live, let us live well ; for be a man never 
 so rich when he lights his fire, death may perhaps enter his 
 door before it be burnt out. 
 
 7 2. It is better to have a son late than never. One sel- 
 dom sees sepulchral stones raised over the graves of the 
 dead by any other hands but those of their own offspring. 
 
 77. Riches pass away like the twinkling of an eye; of 
 all friends, they are the most inconstant. Flocks perish ; 
 relations die ; friends are not immortal ; you will die your- 
 self; but I know one thing alone that is out of the reach of 
 fate ; and that is the judgment which is passed upon the 
 dead. 
 
 81. Praise the fineness of the day when it is ended ; 
 praise a woman when she is buried; a sword when you 
 have proved it ; a maiden after she is married ; the ice 
 when once you have crossed it ; and the liquor after it 
 is drunk. 
 
 84. Trust not to the words of a girl, neither to those 
 which a woman utters ; for their hearts have been made 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 279 
 
 like the wheel that turns round ; levity was put into their 
 bosoms. 
 
 86-87. Trust not to the ice of one day's freezing ; nei- 
 ther to the serpent that lies asleep ; nor to the caresses of 
 her you are going to marry ; nor to a sword that is cracked 
 or broken ; nor to the son of a powerful man ; nor to a field 
 that is newly sown. 
 
 90. Peace between malicious women is compared to a 
 horse that is made to walk over the ice not properly shod ; 
 or to a vessel in a storm without a rudder ; or to a lame 
 man who should attempt to follow the mountain goats with 
 a young foal, or yearling mule. 
 
 92. He who would make himself beloved by a maiden, 
 must entertain her with fine discourses, and offer her en- 
 gaging presents ; he must also incessantly praise her beauty. 
 It requires good sense to be a skillful lover. 
 
 95. The heart alone knows what passes within the heart, 
 and that which betrays the soul, is the soul itself. There is 
 no malady or sickness more severe than not to be content 
 with one's lot. 
 
 119. Never discover your uneasiness to an evil person, 
 for he will afford you no comfort. 
 
 121. Know that if you have a friend, you ought to visit 
 him often. The road is grown over with grass, the bushes 
 quickly spread over it, if it is not constantly traveled. 
 
 123. Be not the first to break with your friend. Sorrow 
 
280 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 gnaws the heart of him who has no one to advise with but 
 himself. 
 
 130. I advise you to be circumspect, but not too much : 
 be so, however, when you have drunk to excess, when you 
 are near the wife of another, and when you find yourself 
 among robbers. 
 
 131. Do not accustom yourself to mocking; neither 
 laugh at your guest nor a stranger : they who remain at 
 home often know not who the stranger is that cometh to 
 their gate. 
 
 136. Laugh not at the gray-headed declaimer, nor at 
 the aged grandsire. There often come forth from the wrin- 
 kles of the skin, words full of wisdom. 
 
 140. The fire drives away diseases ; Runic characters 
 destroy the effect of imprecations ; the earth swallows up 
 inundations ; and death extinguishes hatred and quarrels. 
 
CHAPTEE XXVI 
 
 Litera scripta manet," 
 
 The poet saith. Pray let me show my vanit- 
 
 Y, and have "a foreign slipslop now and then, 
 If but to prove I've traveled ; and what's travel, 
 Unless it teaches one to quote and cavil V 
 
 The modern literature of the Icelanders is of quite a dif- 
 ferent character from that in heathen times, and in the early 
 history of the country, from the tenth to the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. They seem as much devoted to poetry as their ances- 
 tors, and their style of versification is similar ; but they court 
 the muse in a different strain. The poetry of the modern 
 Icelanders does not abound in mythology, hyperbole, and 
 fable ; and it may reasonably be supposed that works of im- 
 agination have lost something of the hue of romance that is 
 thrown around the productions of a heroic age. A study of 
 the works of foreign authors- — translations from eminent 
 christian poets, in Norway, Germany, England, and the 
 United States, are favorite pursuits of the modern Icelanders ; 
 and works of this description are among the most popular 
 published in the country. 
 
 Among the original writers and translators of the present 
 century, none rank as high as Jon Thorlakson. Receiving a 
 scanty salary of less than fifty dollars a year, as parish priest 
 of Baegisa, and laboring hard as a farmer, he yet found time 
 to translate from English and German writers, and to com- 
 pose original poetry, to the extent of several octavo volumes, 
 13 
 
282 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 About the year 1818,.his case attracted the attention of a 
 learned society in London, and a sum of money was for- 
 warded to him to smooth his declining years ; but he survived 
 only till 1821, being over seventy years of age at the time 
 of his death. His translation of Milton was published in 
 Icelandic, in octavo — double columns — a volume of over 
 400 pages, in 1828. The "Essay on Man," and a volume of 
 original poetry of great merit were published in 1842. 
 Among his original poems are two versions of the story of 
 Inkle and Yarico. 
 
 The style of versification in vogue among the early Ice- 
 landic writers was very peculiar. Its harmony was depen- 
 dent, not so much on rhyme and the number of syllables in 
 a line, as upon peculiar alliterations. Their language abound- 
 ing in consonants, this seemed easier than rhymes, which 
 were seldom used. Some of their kinds of verse had regu- 
 lar alliterations at the commencement of the lines; other 
 varieties, just so many alliterations in a line, or alliterations 
 in a similar position in certain words of corresponding lines. 
 The following is a very good example. It is from an " Ad- 
 dress to the New Year," or, more literally, u The sight of the 
 New Year." 
 
 NYARS VISUR. 
 
 VerSi bliSda veSurs! 
 Vifcir blomgi hliSar! 
 Veifcist vel a miSum ! 
 Vaxi gengdin laxa! 
 Glitri grund og flotur! 
 Groi tun og floi! 
 Neytist afl til nota ! 
 Nytist allttilhlitar! 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 283 
 
 How ingenious and regular are the alliterations ! This 
 is from a poem, written in 184*7. During the present cen- 
 tury, rhymes have been gaining in favor greatly. A longer 
 meter and more perfect rhythm is also cultivated. The old 
 verse, and much of the more modern, is a very short meter, 
 which, to us, does not seem as poetical as a more stately and 
 majestic tread. Formerly, and sometimes at the present 
 day, verse was printed without capitals, except at the com- 
 mencement of a stanza. Let us see how old John Milton 
 looks in an Icelandic dress; and how Mr. Thorlakson 
 sings : — 
 
 Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit 
 Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste 
 Brought death into the world and all our woe. 
 
 Um fyrsta manns 
 felda hlyiSni 
 ok atlysting 
 af epli forbo&nu, 
 hvaSan ovsegr 
 upp kom daufci, 
 Edens missir, 
 ok allt bol manna; 
 
 J>artil annarr einn, 
 sefcri mafcr, 
 aptr fser 
 oss viSreista, 
 ok afrekar nyan 
 oss til handa 
 fullsselustaS 
 fogrum sigri ; 
 
284 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 Syng ]m, Menta- 
 m6$ir himneska! 
 \<x sem Horebs fyrr 
 a huldum toppi, 
 e$a Sinai, 
 saufcaverfci 
 innblest frseSanda 
 titvalit ssefci, 
 hve alheimr skopst 
 af alls samblandi ; 
 
 ESa lysti ]>ik 
 langtum heldr 
 at Zions haefc 
 ok Silo a brunni, 
 sem frarastreymdi 
 hja Frett gufcligri ! 
 
 We can barely recognize the " heavenly Muse " — Menta- 
 mothir hymneska " — Mother of hymns ! — 
 
 -"that, on the secret top 
 
 Of Oreb, or of Sinai, did'st inspire 
 That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, 
 In the beginning, how Heaven and Earth 
 Kose out of chaos." 
 
 Thorlakson's version of Pope's great Essay is a later 
 translation, and, probably, a better one. It is longer meter, 
 is all in rhyme, and more in accordance with the structure 
 of English verse.* Here is a selection from the fourth epis- 
 tle of the Essay, with the translation : — 
 
 * A sample is given at the head of Chapter IV., page 61, of this 
 volume. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 285 
 
 But, by your fathers' worth, if yours you rate, 
 
 Count me those only who were good and great. 
 
 Go ! if your ancient but ignoble blood 
 
 Has crept through scoundrels ever since the flood, 
 
 Go ! and pretend your family is young ; 
 
 Nor own your fathers have been fools so long. 
 
 What can ennoble sots, or slaves, or cowards ? — 
 
 Alas! not all the blood of all the Howards. 
 
 Mr. Thorlakson gives it in this style. 
 
 En se ySvart hr5 aldna bol$ 
 
 i oterligum runniS straum 
 
 hartil nu stfSan Noa floS, 
 
 narra-registar gegnum aum, 
 
 segifc ha heldur ySar sett 
 
 unga; latifc ei heyra neinn 
 
 a$ ser hafi svo lengi lsedt 
 
 i legg heim daraskapur einn ! 
 
 HvaS skarn-hrsel, narra, skelmskum hal, 
 
 skapa kann aSals-mseti go$ ? 
 
 ei heilar aettar tallaust tal 
 
 til vinnst, ei gjorvalt HovarSs bloS. 
 
 One of the finest specimens of Icelandic poetry, is a trans- 
 lation of Bruce's Address to his Army, on the following 
 page. It shows the flexibility of the Icelandic language in 
 a striking light ; the piece preserving the exact number of 
 stanzas, the same number of lines to a stanza, and rhymes 
 precisely like the song of Burns, so that in the Icelandic 
 version it can be sung to the same air. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 BAKNOCKBURK 
 
 AVARP ROBERT BRUCE TIL HERLITHS SINS 
 EPTIR BURNS. 
 
 Skotar, er "Wallace vor5ust me5, 
 Vig me6 Bruce opt hafi5 sje5; 
 Velkomnir a5 bl65gum be5, 
 Bjartri e5a sigurfrseg5 ! 
 
 Stund og dagur dyr nu er; 
 Dau5inn ognar hvar sem sjer; 
 Jatvarfts a5 oss se5ir her — 
 Ok og hlekkja naeg5! 
 
 Hverr vill bera ni5ings nafn ? 
 Na hver bley5u seoja hrafn ? 
 Falla hrael ofrjalsum jafn? 
 Flyti hann burtu sjer ! 
 
 Hverr vill hlinur Hildar bals 
 Hjor nu draga hins g65a nials, 
 Stan da bae5i og falla frjals ? 
 Fari hann eptir mjer! 
 
 Anau5ar vi5 eymd og grond! 
 Y5ar sona jjrseldoms bond! 
 Vjer viljum lata lif og ond, 
 En leysa ur hlekkjura ta! 
 
 FelliS grimma fjendur )>vi! 
 Frelsi er hverju hoggi i! 
 Sjai oss hrosa sgiri ny 
 Sol, e5a or5na a5 na! 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 28? 
 
 We give the original, so they may be readily compared. 
 BANNOCKBURK 
 
 Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled ! 
 Scots wham Bruce has aften led ! 
 Welcome to your gory bed, 
 Or to victory. 
 
 Now's the day and now's the hour; 
 See the front o' battle lour; 
 See approach proud Edward's power — 
 Chains and slavery! 
 
 Wha will be a traitor knare ? 
 Wha can fill a coward's grave? 
 Wha sae base as be a slave ? 
 Let him turn and flee! 
 
 Wha for Scotland's king and law, 
 Freedom's sword will strangly draw I 
 Freeman stand, or freeman fa', 
 Let him follow me! 
 
 By oppression's woes and pains ! 
 
 By your sons in servile chains! 
 
 We will drain our dearest veins, 
 
 But they shall be free. 
 
 Lay the proud usurpers low! 
 Tyrants fall in every foe 1 
 Liberty's in every blow ! 
 Let us do or die ! 
 
288 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 These examples, though but disjecta membra poetce, are 
 sufficient to show something of the structure and appear- 
 ance of Icelandic poetry; and, probably to the general 
 reader, as interesting as a dissertation that would fill a 
 volume. 
 
 One more specimen, however, of their verse, shall be 
 given ; a couple of stanzas of a very popular Icelandic hymn. 
 It is entitled, " The weeping of Jacob over Rachel," or, 
 
 GRATUR JACOBS YFIR RAKEL. 
 
 Hvert er farin hin fagra og bli<5a? 
 
 Forstu Rakel i svipanna heim ? 
 Fyrir sunnu sje jeg nu 115a 
 
 Svarta floka og dimmir i geim. 
 Rakel! Rakel! daprast nu dagar, 
 
 Dvin rajer gle5i, bratt enda mun Hf ; 
 LeiSir eru mjer Ijdsgrsenir hagar — 
 
 Liggur i moldu hi5 astk£era vif. 
 
 Drottinn Abrahams ! deyr nu minn ronxur, 
 
 Dau5ans skuggi i hjarta mjer er; 
 Drottinn Abrahams ! au5ur og tomur 
 
 Er nti heimur og dagsbirta hver; 
 Drottinn Abrahams ! barn J>itt sja bifa ! 
 
 B165ug falla tar Ipess k mund ; 
 Drottinn Abrahams! lat mig ei lifa! — 
 
 Liggur 1 moldu hi5 harmdau5a sprund. 
 
 We will now have a specimen of Icelandic prose. See 
 how queer our good old plain philosopher Franklin looks 
 in a Northern dress. Here is his " Story of a Whistle." 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 289 
 
 HLJtfTHPfPAK 
 
 EPTIR DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 
 
 Sonn saga — skrifu5 framda bans ungum. 
 
 ba5 bar til einhvern helgidag begar eg var eitthva5 sjo vetra ga- 
 mall, a5 kunningjar minir fylltu vasa rnina koparskildingum. Jeg 
 gekk ba, strax beina lei5 til budar bar sem barnagull voru seld ; 
 en a lei5inni maetti jeg dreng, sem hjelt a hljoftpipu, og J>6tti mjer 
 svo fallegt hlj65i5 i henni, a5 jeg bau5 honum af fyrra brag5i allt 
 fje mitt fyrir hana. Si5an for eg heim og gekk um 611 litis blasandi 
 a hljobpipuna mina, og var hinn katasti b6 eg gjorfti ollum heima- 
 monnum 6nse5i. Brae5ur minir, systur, og frsendur komust bratt 
 a5 um kaupskap minn, og sog5u mjer ba a5 eg hef5i gefi5 fjorum 
 sinnum meira fyrir pipuna enn htin vseri ver5. ba for eg a5 bugsa 
 um hva5 marga g65a gripi eg heffti geta5 eignast fyrir ba5, sem 
 eptir hef<5i matt vert5a af skildingum rainum ; og bau blou svo 
 lengi a5 heimsku minni, a5 jeg grjet af gremju, og umbugsanin um 
 betta brigg5i mig meira enn hljobpipan gladdi mig. 
 
 betta atvik kom mjer bo si5an til nota, bvi ahrifin ur5u eptir i 
 sal minni; og opt, begar freistni kom a5 mjer a5 kaupe einhvern 
 
 6barfann, sagSi eg vi5 sjalfan mig, gefhu ei of miki?) fyrir hlohjpi- 
 puna ; og me5 bvi moti hjelt eg fje minu. 
 
 begar eg ox upp, komst tit i heiminn, og for a5 taka eptir breitni 
 
 manna, ba fannst mjer svo sem eg hitti marga, mjog marga, sem 
 
 gafu of mi kib fyrir hljoftpipima. 
 
 begar eg sa mann, af eintomri eptirsokn eptir hylli konunga, 
 
 ey5a aldri sinum i bvi a5 bi5a eptir bentugleiknm beirra, forna 
 
 nse5i sinu, frelsi, dyg5 og jafnvel vinum sinum, til a5 na henni, ba 
 
 sag5i jeg vi5 sjalfan mig, Ipessi maftur gefur of mikib fyrir hljoftpipu 
 
 sina. 
 
 begar eg sa annan mann lata miki5 af alby5u hylli, og verja 
 
 stundum sinum til a5 kvetja menn til ospekta, en sjalfum sjer til 
 13* 
 
290 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 obsetanlegs ska5a vanrrekja efni sin; hann gefur sannarlcga, sag5i 
 e g )>&, of mikift fyrir hljobpipu sina. 
 
 Ef eg sje einhvern armingja, sem einasta til J>ess a5 geta hrugaft 
 saman au5sefum, afneitar sjer um alia J>aegilegleika lifsins, alia )>a 
 anaegju, 6em i J>vi er a5 gjora vel ri5 a5ra, alia virftingu segi eg J>a, 
 \j cr g e fi$ vissulega of mikift fyrir hljobpipu ybar. 
 
 |>egar eg mseti gleSimandi, sem fornar hverju tsekifsert til a5 
 au5ga sal sina e5a boeta hag sinn a lofsver5an hatt, og ]?a5 vegna 
 eintomrar holdlegrar nautnar: dldnsmabur, segi eg )>a, Ipjer baki& 
 yhur bol en ei glefti : djer gefS of mikib fyrir hljobpipu ybar. 
 
 Sjai jeg raann af tomri hjegomadyr5 saekjast eptir dyrindis 
 fotum, hussgognum og 65rum utbuna5i, allt meira enn efni hans 
 leyfa, safna fyrir ]>a sok skuldum og lenda loks i diflissu ; 03, segi eg 
 }>a, hann hefur diykeypt, mjog drfkeypt, hljobpipu sina. 
 
 |>egar eg sje fagra, bliSlynda meyju, gefna ilium og hro5alegum 
 svola ; mikil hormung er ]>aft, segi eg ]?a, ab hun skuli hafa gef.6 
 svona mikift fyrir eina hljohpipu. 
 
 I stuttu mali, eg komst a5 rann um a5 mikill liluti af eydum 
 manna kemur af }>vi a5 ]>eir meta ranglega gildi hluta, og gefa of 
 miki5 fyrir hljohpipur sinar. 
 
 The word Hljothpipan, literally translated, is a pipe, or 
 musical instrument, made out of a reed. These extracts 
 from Icelandic literature are undoubtedly very interesting ! 
 If not so readily perused as our English, they at least show 
 the literary taste of the Icelanders, and something of the 
 variety and style of their composition. Here is an extract 
 from a newspaper published in Reykjavik a few days after I 
 left ; a copy of which I received by mail after arriving in 
 New York. 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 291 
 
 From the £jot5olfur* of Aug. 20th, 1852. 
 
 Eptirfylgjandi grein ba5 feroamaourinn herra Pliny Miles rektor 
 herra Bjarna Jonsson at) lata prenta i J)j6561£i, og senda honum 
 svo til Vesturheims. 
 
 Herra Pliny Miles, VesturlieimsntaSur og meSlimur Sagnafjelag- 
 sins i Nyju Jorvik, hefur um hri5 dvali5 a fslandi og fari5 vi5a um 
 hjer65 landsins. Harm hefur sko5a5 Geisir, litla Geisir, brennistein- 
 namurnar i Krisivik, og harm kom upp a tindinn a Helclu. Herra 
 Miles hefur sko5a5 og aftsett nokkrar bsekur landsins, og hefur hann 
 haft heim me5 sjer til Vesturheims nokkrar islenzkar bffikur. Stipts- 
 b6kasafni5 hefur sent boggul af bokum ]?j65b6kasafni Vesturheims, 
 er Smithson er hofundur a5, til endurgjalds fyrir dyrar boekur, er 
 stiptsbokasafnio" hafSi nylega fengi5 fra bokasafni Smithsons. 
 Herra Miles siglir apostskipinu til meginlands NorSuralfunnar, og 
 tjair hann sig mikillega ana?g5an me5 allt, sem hann hefur sje5 lit 
 a fslandi. 
 
 A translation of this is scarcely required, as its purport 
 can be readily seen. It is a short article written by Mr. 
 Bjarni Johnson, for the Thiotholfur, and giving an account 
 of the author's visit to Iceland. 
 
 In the Icelandic, whole sentences from other languages are 
 thrown into one word. The word Vesturheimsmathur, fully 
 translated, is a man who has his home on the western con- 
 tinent. It goes on to speak of this native of the West, as a 
 member of the New York Historical Society — " Sagnafje- 
 lagsins " — and that, during a somewhat rainy period, he vis- 
 ited Iceland, traveled through the interior of the country, 
 went to the Geyser, the little Geyser, the Sulphur Moun- 
 
 * "The Statesman." 
 
292 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 tains — " brennisteinnamurnar " — of Krisivik, and climbed 
 to the top of Hekla. It speaks of the visit as a pleasant one, 
 and that on the return of the traveler to America — " Vestur- 
 heims " — he took some books from the Iceland public libra- 
 ry — " stiptsbokasafnith " — as a present to the American 
 Smithsonian library, in return for a similar present formerly 
 received from Smithson's. Then he journeyed on the mail 
 packet — " postskipinu " — to the continent of Europe, after a 
 long tour and an agreeable stay in Iceland. 
 
 This shall close our extracts. Lest some may think 
 that the writer of this volume is an enthusiast, and over- 
 rates the value of Icelandic literature, the following state- 
 ment is quoted from the preface to the English translation 
 of Rask's Icelandic Grammar, by Hon. George P. Marsh, 
 and shows the high estimate placed on the language and 
 literature of the Northmen, by this eminent linguist. 
 
 The translator cannot here enter upon so copious a subject 
 as the character and value of the literature of Iceland; and it must 
 suffice to remark, that in the opinion of those most competent to 
 judge, it has never been surpassed, if equaled, in all that gives 
 fcalue to that portion of history which consists of spirited delinea- 
 tions of character, and faithful and lively pictures of events among 
 nations in a rude state of society. 
 
 That the study of the Old-Northern tongue may have an im- 
 portant hearing on English grammar and etymology, will he obvi- 
 ous when it is known that the Icelandic is most closely allied to 
 the Anglo-Saxon, of which so few monuments are extant ; and a 
 slight examination of its structure, and remarkable syntactical 
 character, will satisfy the reader, that it may well deserve the 
 attention of the philologist. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 MATTERS PERSONAL, LITERARY, AND GENERAL, 
 
 The Icelanders, as I have pictured them, are intellectual 
 in their tastes ; and in domestic life they are highly social. 
 Their amusements are few, their enjoyments being princi- 
 pally in the family, at their labor, and attending public wor- 
 ship. Throughout the country, they gather from a circuit 
 of many miles, to hear their ministers proclaim " glad 
 tidings," and tell them of the reward that awaits a well- 
 spent life. In the long winter evenings, one member of the 
 family is much of the time reading aloud, while the others 
 are engaged in domestic duties, spinning, weaving, knit- 
 ting, and making clothing and domestic utensils, in which 
 the males as well as the females, all engage. In their 
 personal demeanor, the Icelanders are generally quiet, so- 
 ber, and somewhat taciturn. A love of amusement, and a 
 fondness for sport, is not common. Some of the Icelanders 
 that I have seen, have had a great deal of vivacity, and 
 large conversational powers. Some that have visited foreign 
 countries, have returned home so impressed with their expe- 
 rience of the great and busy world ; that they have infused 
 a spirit of activity and inquiry into the whole circle where 
 they move. They tell of one man, an Icelander, who got 
 off to the continent, and went through all the wars of Napo- 
 
294 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 leon, and after many years returned to his native land. He 
 was so glad to see his own good island, that he fell down 
 and embraced the earth, and declared, in the words of the 
 national proverb, " Iceland is the best country the sun 
 shines upon."* With all that the poor soldier had seen of 
 the luxury and variety of foreign countries, there was, to 
 him, " no place like home." While the Icelander is fond 
 of conversation, when in the presence of strangers he 
 rather listen than talk. They come well up to Dr. John- 
 son's favorite character, a good listener. When a foreigner 
 calls at the house of an Icelander, he attends first to the 
 personal wants of his guest ; then he is desirous of learn- 
 ing all the stranger has to communicate. He is shrewd and 
 inquisitive, and asks the most pertinent and ingenious ques- 
 tions, and never rests satisfied till he has learned with great 
 minuteness all that the stranger has to tell him respecting 
 the great world, and the foreign countries he has seen. He 
 is always most respectful and obliging, and ready to com- 
 municate information, and answer questions about every 
 thing relating to his country or pursuits. He seems to ap- 
 preciate the greater amount of wealth and luxury abroad, 
 and the superior magnificence and splendor of cities like 
 Copenhagen, Paris, London, or New York, as compared to 
 his own small towns ; yet his amor patriae and contentment 
 make him superior to all temptations to emigrate. His in- 
 dustry, fondness for reading and conversing, his great integ- 
 rity of character, a devotional spirit, and ardent love for the 
 
 * " Island cr hinn besta land, sem solinn skinnar uppd." 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 295 
 
 precepts and practices of Christianity — these, with his con- 
 tentment and love of liberty, are the most prominent char- 
 acteristics of the Icelander. They do not show much fondness 
 for exact science, though they pay some attention to the 
 studies of geography and natural history. Having no fuel but 
 turf — except what is imported — none of the precious or useful 
 metals, no material, except wool, for the manufacture of 
 textile fabrics, raising no fruits or grain, and having little 
 use for water or steam power, they have few incentives to 
 exert themselves in acquiring a knowledge of chemistry, 
 mineralogy, geology, electricity, magnetism, hydraulics, 
 pneumatics, or many of the mechanic and useful arts. 
 " Circumstances make men," or bring out certain traits of 
 character ; and the Icelander forms no exception to the gen- 
 eral rule. We* see how he is placed. Obtaining his sub- 
 sistence from the products of the earth and the sea, engaged 
 little in traffic, he does not experience much of the fraud 
 and wrong that is found in the busy haunts of men ; and in 
 him we see little but the gentle and better characteristics of 
 our nature. 
 
 The Icelander is poor, and books are to him a luxury ; 
 yet he possesses more, in proportion to his means, than the 
 natives of any other country. We shall see by comparison 
 and looking at facts, what their intellectual resources are. 
 The number of books, of all sizes, published in Iceland in 
 each of the years 1847 and 1848, was seventeen — thirty- 
 four volumes in two years ; and these for a community of 
 60,000 people. Were there as many in proportion printed 
 for our population of twenty-five millions, the number of 
 
296 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 books — distinct works, independent of periodicals — pub- 
 lished annually in the United States, would be over seven 
 thousand. The most of the Iceland books are duodecimos 
 and octavos ; the largest volume for the year 1847 contain- 
 ing 928 pages. This was a sort of " Congressional Globe,'' 
 though not issued in numbers — a record of the proceedings 
 of their Althing or Congress.* . This seems like a pretty 
 lengthy journal of a session that lasted but little over a 
 month. They passed a number of acts of much import- 
 ance to the people ; and very likely the session was enli- 
 vened with as many " speeches to Buncombe," as we hear 
 in the same length of time on Capitol Hill. 
 
 Some of the works published in Icelandic, are issued 
 from the press in Copenhagen ; but the majority of them 
 are printed and bound in Iceland. They have several print- 
 ing-presses constantly at work, and three newspapers — one 
 once a week, and two issued once a fortnight. In mechan- 
 ical execution, their books and newspapers are turned out 
 in better style than the average of those issued from the 
 American press. They are, however, always without illus- 
 trations. 
 
 From what has been said, it will be seen that the Ice- 
 landers of the present day are a different people from those 
 of an earlier period. In former times, the tyranny of rulers 
 and the ambition of demagogues, kept up a warlike spirit, 
 and an ardent love of political liberty. While they were 
 less amiable and peaceful, they showed, both in letters and 
 
 * "Tifcindi fra Al>ingi. Anna5 >ing, 1 Juli til 7 Agust, 1847." 
 

 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 29? 
 
 politics, a greater degree of activity. Lest it may be 
 thought that I have drawn too favorable a picture of the 
 early Icelanders, I will here give an extract from a learned 
 dissertation on the history and literature of Iceland, by the 
 distinguished Dr. (now Sir Henry) Holland, who visited the 
 country in 1810, in company with Sir George Mackenzie. 
 
 Like the aurora borealis of their native sky, the poets and 
 historians of Iceland not only illuminated their own country, but 
 flashed the lights of their genius through the night which then 
 hung over the rest of Europe. Commerce was pursued by the in- 
 habitants with ardor and success ; and they partook of the mari- 
 time adventures of discovery and colonization, which gave so 
 much merited celebrity to the Norwegians of this period. Of the 
 several features which distinguish this remarkable period in the 
 history of Iceland, the literary character of the people is doubt- 
 less the most extraordinary and peculiar. We require much evi- 
 dence to convince us of the fact that a nation remote from the rest 
 of Europe, dwelling on a soil so sterile, and beneath such inclement 
 skies, should have sent forth men whose genius, taste, and acquire- 
 ments did honor to their country, and to the times in which they 
 lived. Such evidence, however, of the most distinct and decisive 
 kind, we possess in the many writings which have come down from 
 this period to the present age, and in the testimonies afforded by 
 the cotemporaneous writers of other countries. The reality of the 
 fact, indeed, can admit of no doubt ; and it is only left for us to 
 speculate upon the causes which led to this singular anomaly in 
 the history of literature.* 
 
 * From " Mackenzie's Iceland ;" " Preliminary Dissertation " on 
 the Literature and History of the country, by Dr. Henry Holland. 
 
298 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 The above was written forty years ago, and by one of 
 the most intelligent travelers that ever visited Iceland. 
 
 I was asked by the Icelanders, if it would not be an ob- 
 ject for some of my countrymen to settle in Iceland, and 
 teach them the practical and productive arts as understood 
 in my country. I told them, I did not think it would be an 
 object for the natives of any country I knew to go and set- 
 tle there. The restrictive laws of Denmark do not favor 
 trade with foreigners ; the country produces too little vari- 
 ety, and too small quantities of suitable articles for exporta- 
 tion, to create a trade of much magnitude. Their soil is, a 
 majority of it, entirely unproductive ; and the balance pro- 
 duces too little ever to support a numerous population. The 
 articles they have are good of the kind ; they raise excellent 
 beef and mutton ; the wool of their sheep is soft and dura- 
 ble, but not fine or handsome. It is not so good for first- 
 class manufactures, as the sheep are often pied, spotted, 
 and variegated in color ; and it is not so good for coloring, 
 as they always pull it off of the animals, instead of shear- 
 ing it.* Fish — salmon and cod — are important articles of 
 export ; and their horses, though small, are. very desirable 
 animals. A little larger than the Shetland pony, often of 
 singular color, hardy, gentle, and docile ; for pony carriages, 
 and for children and females to ride, I think they would 
 
 * This may be thought barbarous and cruel ; but probably it is 
 not ; for it is pulled at two or three different times, and only that 
 portion pulled off that comes easy. Then, perhaps, too, custom 
 is something, like the adage of the eels, &c. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 299 
 
 be a desirable addition to our stock of horses in the United 
 States. A schooner-load of them went from Iceland to 
 Scotland, when I was. in the country ; and I have no doubt 
 they sold at a good profit, as the average cost was less than 
 ten dollars a head. As these animals are never fed in 
 winter, they are necessarily raised very cheaply ; and, were 
 trade open with foreign countries, I have no doubt a great 
 demand would spring up for them, and add largely to the 
 profits of the Iceland farmer. Apropos of this subject of 
 free trade, I will here give an extract from the letter of an 
 intelligent Icelander, which I have just received, and 
 which was written after the commencement of hostilities 
 in Europe. There is no reason why the king of Denmark 
 should not open the trade of Iceland equally to all nations. 
 It is not a particle of pecuniary benefit to his kingdom, as 
 there are no duties charged ; but, by restricting the trade to 
 Danish vessels, it is kept as a kind of monopoly by a few 
 merchants of Copenhagen ; while the poor Icelanders com- 
 plain greatly of the oppression and hardship of being de- 
 pendent for their foreign necessaries and luxuries, entirely on 
 a few grasping speculators. Whenever the Iceland Althing 
 passes an act opening their ports to all nations, the king 
 vetoes the bill. They murmur at it as great injustice ; but 
 what avail the murmurs of the weak ? During the last war 
 in Europe — 1810-12 — Denmark came near losing the col- 
 ony in two different ways. One was, the enemy came near 
 taking possession ; and another escape they had, the 
 " mother country " not being able to protect the island, or 
 send them supplies, the people came near starving to death ; 
 
300 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and were only saved from the greatest destitution by the 
 clemency and liberality of Great Britain, in treating the 
 Icelanders as " friends," while the country was at war with 
 Denmark. If his Danish Majesty should feel compelled to 
 take up arms in the present struggle, the island would be in 
 similar peril. Respecting this, and some other subjects, the 
 following letter, from a learned Icelander — the President of 
 the Iceland College — will be read with interest : 
 
 Reykjavik, March 1st, 1854. 
 Sir: 
 
 ******* 
 
 As to political news, I have not much to relate ; nor, I am sure, 
 do you expect much from this quarter; yet, a change is about to 
 take place in our commercial relations. In all probability, the 
 Danish government will, after a monopoly of two and a half centu- 
 ries, at length, this year, condescend to allow of our free inter- 
 course, for mercantile purposes, with all nations. It would be su- 
 perfluous to write you any thing about the impending war ; but I 
 cannot forbear stating, that in case of war between England and 
 Russia, to which Denmark would probably be constrained to be- 
 come a party, our situation here, in this island, would needs be- 
 come very precarious. ****** 
 
 Sir : I should be charmed to visit your stately country, to get an 
 idea of her soaring aspirations, to view her wonders of civilization, 
 with all her rapid improvements. She seems to be the only coun- 
 try that at present enjoys the blessings of freedom, and on whose 
 soil liberty can prosper. But I very much fear my desire of paying a 
 visit there will ever remain a "pium votum" which neither my 
 financial circumstances nor my occupation will allow of. * 
 
 * * Though you have, dear sir, already rendered me 
 
 so many important services, I must, before concluding this letter, 
 once more importune you with a boon, which is in the interest of 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 301 
 
 my college, to procure me a copy of the following work, a most 
 excellent one, by one of your countrymen — " Report on Education 
 in Europe, to the Trustees of the Girard College for Orphans, by 
 Alex. Dallas Bache, Philadelphia, 1839." I have made several ap- 
 plications to my bookseller in Copenhagen, but all in vain. Then, 
 I should feel much obliged to you, if you could procure me, by 
 the means of your influential friends in America and Great Britain, 
 some examination papers from some of your colleges or schools of 
 England, especially from Eton, Harrow, or Winchester, containing 
 the questions put to the pupils, as well as copies of the best an- 
 swers to them ; together with specimens of their exercises in Latin 
 and Greek. If you could comply with this desire of mine, you 
 would render yourself one of the benefactors of our college. I 
 could send the expense to Mr. Younghusband, your correspondent 
 in Liverpool. 
 
 I remain, sir, 
 
 Your faithful and obliged friend, 
 
 Bjarni Johnson. 
 To Pliny Miles, Esq., 
 Washington. 
 
 A man who can write thus, who can so express himself, 
 in the purest and most forcible English, does not belong to 
 a community of people who are entirely ignorant of the 
 world at large, or indifferent to the national, political, and 
 educational movements of the powerful nations of the earth. 
 If the Danish government should open the ports of Iceland 
 to all nations, it would be in accordance with the advanced 
 and progressive spirit of the age, and while conferring a 
 great benefit on a quiet, peaceful, and isolated colony, knit 
 more closely the ties of affection and union between the col- 
 onists and the parent country. Then we might chronicle 
 
302 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 the arrival and departure of vessels, a little oftener, between 
 the northern isle of the ocean and our own seaports. 
 
 Last year, a ship bearing the classic name of the 
 " Saga,"* sailed into the harbor of New- York, direct from 
 Iceland, being the first arrival from that country to this, in 
 a period of more than eight hundred years ! I think the mar- 
 itime records of the world would be searched in vain for a 
 parallel case. The crew of this ship were the " followers " 
 of Eric the Eed, and his compeers, who discovered the 
 American continent, and gave it the name of Vinland ; but 
 they were certainly a long time in following him.f 
 
 * A vessel — the "Baldaur," as it was printed in the newspa 
 pers — seems to have derived its name from Northern Mythology — 
 " Baldur, the Fair." This ship was spoken of as having sailed near 
 a steamer on the track of the missing " Glasgow." Now and then, 
 it seems, a name, or maritime event, connects us with the far north. 
 
 f Since the above was in type, intelligence has arrived from 
 Denmark, that a law has just been passed, throwing open the ports 
 of Iceland to the trade of the world. For this, none will rejoice 
 more than the Icelanders themselves ; for a more relentless, grind- 
 ing, and hated monopoly never oppressed a poor people. The 
 resident Danish merchants will now not be able to have every 
 thing their own way. As the law takes effect in April, 1855, a 
 trade between Iceland and England, and Iceland and America, will 
 soon spring up. The articles that the Icelanders most require from 
 foreign countries, and the productions of the island which they 
 have to export, will be found enumerated in preceding chapters. 
 
CHAPTER XXYIII. 
 
 RAMBLES BROUGHT TO A CLOSE EMBARKATION. 
 
 Though this little book was not written for the Iceland 
 market, I cannot help making one or two remarks respect- 
 ing their own internal affairs. Most undoubtedly they have 
 learned more from experience than a foreigner from a hasty 
 visit could teach them, but I believe they do not appreciate 
 the productiveness and value of their soil. As scanty as are 
 the agricultural resources of Iceland, and as short as their 
 seasons are, I am confident that this " art of arts " might be 
 greatly advanced here. Plowing would, certainly, in many 
 places, greatly improve their land, smooth the surface, and 
 enable them to lay it down with a better quality of grass 
 Their seed would, the most of it, however, have to be brought 
 from foreign countries. On seeing their fine meadows of 
 "red top" — the kind of grass most prevalent, — I at once 
 told them that the white, if not the red clover, would be 
 much more productive than their native grasses. After- 
 wards, I saw many farms in the valleys of the Laxa and the 
 Thiorsa rivers, that were well seeded with white clover ; and 
 as it was the haying season, I could see that these farms 
 yielded about double the hay that other farms did, where 
 there was no clover. The clover had once been sown, and 
 then it had propagated itself. I believe many of the more 
 favorably located farms could be made to produce barley 
 
304 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and oats, if the land were properly prepared. These grains 
 are raised in Orkney, Shetland, and the Faroe Isles ; and the 
 latter group is but little south of Iceland. Nothing would 
 do, however, without plowing ; and in Iceland never a horse 
 wore harness yet, so it would take a little time to get such 
 a business started. If the governor of Iceland were a thor- 
 oughly practical man, he could do much towards intro- 
 ducing these and other improvements. A good opening 
 place for the plow would be the " public square " in Reyk- 
 javik, about two acres of irregular grass ; that, once broken 
 up, and leveled, and seeded down to white clover, would 
 make a beautiful village green. If they had plows, they 
 would make larger gardens than they now do with the 
 spade, and more table vegetables would be raised. This 
 would be conducive to the health and comfort of the people, 
 and would, probably, in time, if not entirely eradicate at 
 least greatly reduce the diseases of the skin, and that terrible 
 plague, the leprosy ; both of which are somewhat common, 
 and undoubtedly produced, or greatly aggravated, by living 
 to a great extent on animal food. 
 
 The Icelanders, like all other ancient people, are ex- 
 tremely attached to their own customs, and averse to inno- 
 vation. I noticed one thing here, that — though, as Captain 
 Cuttle would say, there was not much wisdom in it — is cha- 
 racteristic of every people under the sun. While fond of 
 every foreign article, particularly of ornament, they about 
 entirely neglected the native productions. With great pains 
 and trouble, they would rear in their houses, geraniums, 
 roses, fuschias, violets, and other exotics, and yet neglect to 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 305 
 
 plant one single native flower. The beautiful and fragrant 
 heath, common over much of Iceland, docs not grow within 
 several miles of Reykjavik ; and yet not one single resident 
 had .planted by his dwelling a stalk of this elegant little 
 shrub, to bloom and give out perpetual fragrance. I saw, 
 also, beautiful annual flowers growing wild in the fields, and 
 on the river banks, but which were never cultivated. Sir 
 George Mackenzie has given a list of the Iceland Flora, and 
 a pretty long catalogue it is. 
 
 I believe a carriage road could be made in some places, 
 particularly between Reykjavik and Havnarfiorth ; but then 
 it might not pay to attempt to make many carriage roads, 
 and introduce wheeled vehicles in Iceland. If the land was 
 leveled and seeded down, and bogs and wet places drained, 
 and converted into dry, productive meadows, I believe it 
 would be an object for the larger farmers to have carts to 
 draw their hay on, rather than carry it in bundles on the 
 backs of men or horses. Then, too, if their meadows were 
 smooth the product would be much greater, and they would 
 be able to introduce a much larger scythe than the little 
 two-foot knife-blade affair used there at present. With the 
 improvement of their land, their tools could be greatly im- 
 proved. The population of Iceland has been stated at 
 60,000 souls, and probably the increase is not one-and-a-half 
 per cent, annually. Women, as well as men, work in the 
 fields, during the hay season ; but, in fishing, the men only 
 are engaged. The exposure attendant on this latter busi- 
 ness gives many complaints of the lungs ; and probably more 
 die of consumption than of any other disease. The plague, 
 14 
 
306 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 about five hundred years ago, visited Iceland ; but cholera 
 and yellow fever have never been here. There are but few 
 physicians in the country, and the distances they have to 
 travel often make their services of no avail, Death calling 
 on the patient before the doctor does. In countries of more 
 luxury and refinement, Death often calls soon after the doc- 
 tor ! From what I learn, I should judge longevity was not 
 as great here as in most countries in the temperate zones. 
 
 The last Sunday I was in Iceland I attended church at 
 tne Reykjavik cathedral. This is a beautiful little edifice, 
 of brick, with a fine altar — altogether of an ornamental ap- 
 pearance. The sermon was in Icelandic, the service Luthe- 
 ran, but much after the style of the Church of England. 
 Three Sundays out of four, I think it is, that the service in 
 this place is in Icelandic, and every fourth Sunday in Danish. 
 What the use may be of having any service in Danish* is 
 more than I can tell, for a more worldly, ungodly set than 
 the Danish merchants of Iceland I never' saw in a Christian 
 country. At this place, their example has driven nearly all 
 religious observances away from the Icelanders. Though 
 the day was beautiful, and but one church in the village, and 
 all professing the same religion, and all the people, too, un- 
 derstanding both languages, there were not, from among the 
 twelve hundred people of the place, fifty worshipers. This 
 certainly does not accord with what I have said of the moral 
 and religious habits of the Icelanders in general. I do not 
 think I do the Danes injustice, when I lay the immorality in 
 and around Reykjavik to their influence and example. In 
 several villages and country places I had a good opportunity 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 307 
 
 of observing, and I know that ten times greater proportion 
 of the people attended church than here in Reykjavik. A 
 class like these merchants, who notoriously do nothing but 
 traffic, make money, gamble, and drink, cannot improve the 
 morals of a simple, pious, and intellectual people. 
 
 The people assembled at the church very quietly, and 
 took their seats without tarrying at the door, or entering 
 into conversation. They were all dressed neatly, and two 
 or three females wore the ancient costume of the country. 
 It is very picturesque, but 
 
 "Description will not suit itself in words." 
 
 I cannot do better than give another extract from the 
 letter of President Johnson — quoted in last chapter — under 
 date of March 1st, 1854, as well as part of one written the 
 November previous. Only a portion of the letters are given, 
 and all of this is of a private and personal nature, intended 
 for no eye but niy own. Barring the compliments that are 
 given, the extracts will be read with interest, both as show- 
 ing the composition of an Icelander in a foreign language, 
 and the educational, parochial, and local news communi- 
 cated. Commencing his letter of March 1st, he says : 
 
 "My Dear Sir! 
 
 "I have to acknowledge from you the third letter since we part- 
 ed — of Dec. 4th, last (Washington) — together with a large parcel of 
 bool»«, all sent to me by the care of your friend Mr. Younghus- 
 band, at Liverpool, who, besides, had the kindness to write me a 
 very friendly letter, and send me the last copies of the leading 
 newspapers of Great Britain. — Indeed, sir, I feel quite ashamed at 
 
308 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 receiving so many proofs of your friendship, without being capable 
 of giving you the least mark of my gratitude; for all I can furnish 
 is our little "|>jo$olfur,"* a poor return for all your liberality. To 
 this I take the liberty to add an examination paper — (Programf) — 
 in Icelandic and Danish — of the management and teaching of our 
 College, for the year 1852, '53. * * * * I have forwarded 
 all your presents'to the persons interested that are living here in 
 town and neighborhood : such as were destined for the interior of 
 the country, I must keep till the spring, all communication there- 
 with being impracticable except on foot. Now I am charged with 
 the task of bringing you their thanks, for your kindness in remem- 
 bering them when you had so little to thank for. I left your direc- 
 tion with them, intimating that a letter from them would be much 
 esteemed by you, even though written in Danish or Icelandic. 
 And as to news concerning your acquaintances here, all is un- 
 changed. None of the ladies you mention, are married. The Misses 
 Johnson are keeping a female school pretty successfully ; the Misses 
 Sivertsen living with their parents, and I am to tell you the com- 
 pliment of their father.:): He has delivered to me the flask you so 
 kindly presented me with, and which I shall keep as a souvenir of 
 you, though rather too small for my capacious stomach ! The 
 Dean Johnson is going to leave in March, to the regret of his 
 friends. He is to have another living in the interior of the country. 
 Thorarensen has left the College, and you will find his name (S. 
 Thorarensen) as well as that of Jon Sveinson in the examination 
 paper I send you here inclosed. Mrs. Egilson,§ Mr. Ranthrys, the 
 
 * "|)jo5olfur," the Reykjavik newspaper. 
 
 f " Efterretninger." 
 
 I To this excellent gentleman, Mr. Sivertsen, I am indebted for 
 numerous hospitalities. Forty-two years before, in 1810, he enter- 
 tained at his house Sir George Mackenzie and his companions. 
 
 § Widow of Sweinborn Egilson, a poet and literary man, who 
 died a few days after I left the country. 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 309 
 
 Apothecar} 7 , and his lady, Mr. Jon Arnason,* were all extremely 
 pleased with the JV. Y. Illustrated News you sent them. I have 
 also to salute you from the Bishop." 
 
 In Mr. Johnson's letter of Nov. 15th, 1853, he says: 
 
 "I have to acknowledge from you the reception of two letters; 
 the former of Sept. 24, 1852 (Glasgow), the latter of Sept. 5, this 
 year (Washington), both attended with newspapers, for which I 
 feel very much obliged to you, as for your friendship in general. 
 I am very glad to learn by your latter letter, that you are returned 
 sound and safe to your native country, from your long and check- 
 ered journey. But I trust you will not repent the toils and hard- 
 ships inseparably connected with such a 'tour' almost around the 
 world. You will, I am sure, allow of its important consequences 
 for our own mental improvement and development Old Horace 
 says : ' Qui multorum providus urbes et mores hominum inspexit — 
 latumque per ceqicor, aspera multa pertulit adversis rerum immersa- 
 bilis undis.' 
 
 " I am very much indebted to you for the copies of newspapers 
 you so kindly have sent to me. However, I deeply regret none 
 of them contained your lectures upon the curiosities of this coun- 
 try, as in general what attracted your notice on your extensive 
 journey. But then I console myself by your kind promise to send 
 me a copy of your Travels in Iceland, when ready from the press. 
 * * * I have to announce to you Jon Sveinson's most 
 heartfelt thanks for your letter of introduction to your friend at 
 Hull,f which benefited him very much during his stay there ; and 
 I feel obliged to join my thanks to his, as it was on my recom- 
 mendation that you gave him the said letter. Indeed, sir, he feels 
 
 * Librarian of the public library at Reykjavik. 
 
 f Mr. Joseph "W. Leng, Publisher and Bookseller, Saville street, 
 Hull ; a gentleman of intelligence and high worth, to whom I am 
 indebted for many kind attentions to myself, as well as for his 
 favors to my young Iceland friend. 
 
310 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 very much bound in gratitude to you and your friends for all the 
 kindness they poured on him. He has now left the college— last 
 season — with a very honorable testimonial ; and but for the chol- 
 era that has been raging in Denmark during the latter part of the 
 last summer, he would have gone to the University of Copenhagen; 
 but now having postponed his journey thither to the next spring, 
 he passes this winter at his father's, who is a reputed clergyman of 
 easy circumstances, in the interior of this country. Jon Sveinson's 
 visit to Hull,hasalso procured me a friend there. The last sum- 
 mer, I had successively received some copies of English newspa- 
 pers, without knowing from what quarter they came. I thought 
 of you or some of my other friends in Great Britain ; but a couple 
 of months ago I received a letter from Mr. Archibald Kidd, Saville 
 street, Hull (if I decipher his name correctly), who informed me 
 that it was to him I was indebted for the favor of the newspapers, 
 and who asked me some information about the means of studying 
 Icelandic literature, and the method of setting out about it. I 
 most readily complied with his request, as far as I could, and 
 wrote him by the last post-ship for Liverpool. As he intimated to 
 know you, I expect you to be so kind as to give me in your next 
 letter some information about this gentleman. * * * I send 
 you enclosed a copy of the TJiiotholfur for the whole year 1852-53. 
 I wish you to tell me whether I am to continue it. This I might 
 easily do, especially in the summer time, as at that season there 
 are frequent occasions for sending to England ; whereas, in winter 
 it is more difficult, the only ship going there being the post ship, 
 and my extensive official correspondence with the ministry of pub- 
 lic instruction seldom permitting me sufficient leisure to write to 
 my private friends. 
 
 " Now, I wish these lines may find you in good health and hap- 
 piness ; and I sign myself, my dear sir, 
 
 "Your very much indebted friend, 
 "To Mr. Pliny Miles, "Bjarni JonNSON." 
 
 "Washington." 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 311 
 
 It should be stated that the great capacity of my friend 
 does not consist in the appetite,,so much as a certain embon- 
 point, coming, as he does partly up to Shakspeare's descrip- 
 tion of Cardinal Wolsey — " a man of an unbounded stom- 
 ach." 
 
 In closing my account of the Icelanders at Reykjavik, I 
 have to record the pleasure and profit that I derived from 
 the friendly attentions of these excellent people. I spent 
 many and most pleasant hours with President Johnson, and 
 with Mr. Sivertsen and his wife and daughters ; also a most 
 agreeable evening at the house of the Dean, Rev. Mr. John- 
 son, who made a small party on my account. The young 
 ladies in this family, as also in Mr. Sivertsen's, and Mr. Ran- 
 thry's, contributed much to the agreeable socialities of my 
 stay in Reykjavik. Were these fair daughters of the North 
 to appear in society in England or America, a comparison 
 to their disadvantage could not be drawn. Speaking sev- 
 eral languages — always two or more — good players on the 
 pianoforte and the guitar, skilled also in vocal music, and 
 to these accomplishments, add a knowledge of household 
 duties, and I fear that many of the graduates of our female 
 boarding-schools could not successfully come into competi- 
 tion with them. I also partook of the hospitalities of their 
 most excellent bishop, who lives a little way out of town, on 
 a pleasant part of the coast, opposite the island of Vithey. 
 Before leaving Copenhagen, and on my return there, I 
 formed a most agreeable acqaintance with Mr. Gisli Brin- 
 julfsson, quite a young man, but already enjoying a good 
 literary reputation, both in his own country and in Den- 
 
312 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 mark. He is a graduate of the Iceland College, and edited 
 for two successive years tl\e " Northurfari,"* — an Iceland 
 " Annual." This volume gives a resume of the political 
 news of the world for the year previous, together with tales, 
 original poetry, and many interesting translations from Eng- 
 lish and American writers. But the time of my departure 
 from the country, arrives and these jottings must close. As 
 the vessel prepared to sail, several of my Iceland friends 
 came to see me off, arid wish me a pleasant journey. As I 
 took their parting hands, I could not but think that this, in 
 all human probability, was our last meeting on earth. Prom- 
 ises to write and send newspapers were mutually inter- 
 changed. The booming gun echoes o'er the broad waters — 
 the sail is set — the mountains fast disappearing in the dis- 
 tance, and the shores of Iceland grow dim on my sight. 
 The little ship with the wandering pilgrim goes dancing 
 over the waves. 
 
 "The land is no longer in view, 
 The clouds have begun to frown ; 
 But, with a stout vessel and crew, 
 We'll say, let the storm come down. 
 
 " And the song of our hearts shall be,. 
 While the winds and waters rave," — 
 A home, a home, on the firm-sat lea I 
 And not on the bounding wave \ 
 
 * " jSorSurfari," — literally, Northern Journalist. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 And we sailed, and we flew, and went near the Maelstrom bay, 
 And we danced, and we frolicked, and we fiddled all the way. 
 
 Old Song. 
 
 A fine morning in August found our little schooner 
 dancing over the waves of the Greenland strait. Towering 
 up on our right, was the lofty Snsefell Jokull, one of the 
 highest mountains in Iceland. It has the regular conical 
 shape of most volcanoes. .It is six thousand feet high, being 
 one-third higher than Vesuvius. At this season about 
 two-thirds of its height is black, and the rest is covered with 
 perpetual snow. When more than fifty miles to the south, 
 I took a drawing of it. It is near the end of a long penin- 
 sula, south of Breithifiorth, and very nearly the westernmost 
 point of Iceland. The sharp outline of the mountain is dis- 
 tinctly visible in the clear atmosphere here for more than a 
 hundred miles. This volcano has not had an eruption for 
 several centuries. Two or three parties of modern travelers 
 have been to the summit. They have described the ascent, 
 after reaching the snow-line, as extremely dangerous. Wide 
 and deep cracks in the everlasting ice, and treacherous 
 bridges of snow, made the danger so great that they tied 
 themselves in a string, to a long rope, and walked about six 
 feet apart. Then, if one man fell through into a chasm, the 
 rest pulled him out. No lives were lost, however, in these 
 14* 
 
314 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 excursions; the toil sweetened the pleasure, the danger 
 spiced it, and they were much gratified with their lofty jour- 
 ney. To the east of Snaefell Jokull, we sailed by Stapi, a 
 small town near some famous basaltic cliffs, on the coast. 
 Immense perpendicular columns, and many thrown down, 
 give the coast much the appearance of the vicinity of the 
 Giant's Causeway, and the island of Staffa. The coast here 
 is more varied, and the scenery more magnificent, than the 
 north of Ireland ; but there is no cave yet discovered 
 that will vie with the famed one of Fingal's. Some of the 
 pillars here at Stapi are near eight feet in diameter, 
 and all of them of the regular geometrical shape so often 
 seen in basaltic rocks. They are like the cells in honey- 
 combs, but solid, and generally hexagonal, but sometimes 
 heptagons and pentagons. Though the time when these 
 basalts were in a state of fusion is very remote, yet there is 
 no doubt of their volcanic character. If geologists and min- 
 eralogists wish to see volcanic matter in every variety of 
 form, let them come to Iceland. 
 
 We passed by the Meal Sack and the Grenadier Islands, 
 the first day, and rounded the long nose of Cape Reykjanes, 
 and the second found us driving before a southwest wind ; 
 due east, along the south coast of Iceland. We sailed near* 
 the Westmann Islands, and plainly in sight of the lofty sum- 
 mits of Hekla, Torfa, Eyjafjalla, and Tindfjalla Jokulls. 
 The most singular curiosity on the south coast of Iceland, 
 that can be seen from the sea, is a group of rocks that I 
 should call The Needles, from their great resemblance to the 
 " Needles " off the Isle of Wight, They are near a little 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 315 
 
 fishing village called Dyarholar, or " Portland." The rocks 
 are shaped a little more like bodkins than needles, and some 
 of them rear their pointed heads near a hundred feet high. 
 They all stand in the ocean, some of them over a mile from 
 land. As we sailed east, the craggy summit of the Oraefa 
 Jokull showed his lofty and chilly head. The sides, too, 
 were visible as well as the summit, and perpendicular rocks 
 and dark-looking caverns showed the foot-prints of mighty 
 convulsions of nature. The Oraefa Jokull, fonning part of 
 that immense mountain known as Skaptar Jokull, is, as I 
 have mentioned before, the highest in Iceland. By trigo- 
 nometrical measurement, it is 6,760 feet high. Snaefell Jo- 
 kull is 6,000 feet ; Eyjafjalla Jokull, 5,900 ; and Hekla, 
 5,700. The Thiorsa river, a stream larger than the Hudson 
 or the Rhine, rises high up on the side of Skaptar Jokull, 
 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and in a deep canon 
 in the lava, pours its resistless torrent down into the ocean. 
 Its rapid and turbulent current may be imagined. These 
 mountains in the interior of the country, the volcanic islands 
 out at sea, the rapid and powerful rivers, the Geysers, and 
 innumerable hot springs, along with the magnificent coast 
 scenery, form the most prominent physical features of Iceland. 
 For two days we were skirting the island on the south 
 coast. This, and the eastern part of Iceland, has few har- 
 bors. The coast is, much of it, low and sandy, and difficult 
 of approach. Some years since, a French vessel was 
 wrecked here in the winter season, and the crew cast ashore, 
 perfectly destitute. A few poor Icelanders that lived in the 
 vicinity, carried them to their huts, fed and took care of them ? 
 
316 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 and gave them shelter till spring. The next summer, on the 
 annual return of the French war-vessel that visits Iceland, 
 the sailors were taken home ; and king Louis Philippe 
 ordered a handsome compensation and reward in money, to 
 the Icelanders who had so hospitably protected his ship- 
 wrecked sailors. They, however, did not Avish it ; said they 
 had only done their duty, and neither wanted nor deserved 
 compensation ; and steadily refused to accept a single penny. 
 Determined to do something in return for their kindness, 
 Louis Philippe ordered his representative in Iceland to state 
 that he would educate at the University of France, four 
 young Icelanders ; and the Governor, the Bishop, and the 
 President of the College, made choice of the young men who 
 were to be recipients of the favor. At the end of their term 
 — four years — as many more were selected ; and thus the 
 French government undertook the constant care and ex- 
 pense of the education of four Iceland boys, who were ap- 
 pointed for their ability, diligence, and good conduct, to 
 receive the bounty of the French government ; and all for 
 an act of humanity towards a crew of shipwrecked sailors. 
 The whole transaction reflects the highest honor on all con- 
 cerned. One of the young gentlemen who was a recipient 
 of this privilege, was a son of my friend Mr. Sivertsen. Af- 
 ter the French war-vessel, the unfortunate Lilloise, was 
 lost, or failed to return from the Arctic sea, in connection 
 with one of the expeditions that went in search of her, there 
 was a scientific corps — a " Scandinavian Commission " — or- 
 ganized, of learned men from France, Denmark, and Iceland, 
 to gather information, make drawings of landscapes, and col- 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 31 7 
 
 lect specimens of mineralogy, botany, and the various 
 branches of natural history. The commission was headed 
 by M. Paul Geimar, and our young Icelander was one of 
 the party. The results of the expedition, in a scientific point 
 of view, were of the highest value. A work was published, 
 containing several folio volumes of plates, many of them col- 
 ored, and the Journal of the Expedition, in six octavos ; and 
 altogether it forms the most valuable work of the kind ex- 
 tant. It comprises Iceland, Greenland, Lapland, and Spitz- 
 bergen ; and nothing, either of a geographical, scientific, or 
 historical nature has been omitted. Along with portraits 
 of Geimar and others of the Commission, is a " counterfeit 
 presentment " of young Sivertsen ; and his is one of the 
 finest faces ever delineated. It has the lively, intelligent 
 countenance, lofty brow, and beaming eye of the Anglo- 
 Saxons, and equal to the finest specimens of the Caucasian 
 race in any part of the world. This promising young man 
 died in France, a few years after his return from the North, 
 universally esteemed by all, and by none more than by 
 Louis Philippe himself. 
 
 But the winds are drifting us lazily to the eastward. 
 We sailed north of Faroe, and saw the cliffs of the lofty 
 Stromoe towering upwards like the ruins of some gigantic 
 temple. The return voyage was all beautiful September 
 weather. Our passengers — except the bachelor of the pres- 
 ent writing — consisted of twelve young Iceland ladies, and 
 a small lad ; and we had a regular "jolly" time. Several 
 of the young ladies were singers, and two of them had 
 guitars. Nearly every afternoon we had a dance. The 
 
318 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 young ladies made fast progress in English — and Yankee — 
 manners, customs, language, and dancing. I also got well 
 posted up in Icelandic, particularly in the sentimental, — or, 
 as Sam Weller would say, in the more " tenderer vords." 
 Guitar music, Iceland hymns, the violin, and " threading the 
 dance " on a rocking deck, were all matters of every-day 
 occurrence. Did I say every day ? Not with me. But 
 the master of the Soloven, Captain Heinrich StilhofF, was 
 certainly the most reckless, irreligious man for a sea-captain, 
 that ever I saw in my life. Had a sober traveler come 
 alongside of us on Sunday, he would have been bothered 
 to have found out what kind of worship we had aboard. 
 His reflections would probably have been like old Lambro's, 
 when he returned, from his piratical cruise, to his island and 
 his daughter. Suppose such a one in his yacht had come 
 up with us : 
 
 A Christian he, and as our ship he nears, 
 
 He looks aboard, and finds no signs of idling , 
 
 He hears — alas ! no music of the spheres, 
 But an unhallowed, earthly sound of fiddling ! 
 
 A melody which makes him doubt his ears* 
 
 The cause being past his guessing or unriddling : 
 
 But, lo ! it is the sailors all a prancing, 
 
 The women, too, and Captain StilhofF, dancing! 
 
 It does not speak well for the Danish people and nation, 
 that their mail-ship, the only government vessel running 
 between Denmark and Iceland, is commanded by a man of 
 the character of Captain StilhofF; and I cannot think it 
 will long continue so. Commanding a vessel carrying the 
 
RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 319 
 
 Government dispatches, and having the most popular and 
 direct passenger traffic between the two countries, a profli- 
 gate who openly boasts of debauching his female passen- 
 gers, defenseless women, the sisters and daughters of the 
 citizens of both countries ; a state of things 'that certainly 
 does not reflect any honor on the proprietors of the vessel, 
 or show much sagacity in their choice of a commander. 
 On, on, goes our little bark ; the northern shore 
 
 "Fades o'er the waters blue ; 
 The night winds sigh, the breakers roar, 
 And shrieks the wild sea-mew." 
 
 Old Norway's coast appears, and we are several days in 
 sight of the brown and snowy mountains, and little villages 
 of wooden houses. The thirteenth day, we passed Cape 
 Lindesness, and Christiansand. We were then within two 
 hundred and fifty miles of Copenhagen — only a few hours' 
 voyage for a steamship ; but we had no steam a-board, ex- 
 cept what might be found in certain kettles and casks, and 
 these did not aid our progress much. I thought two days, 
 at farthest would suffice for the rest of our voyage ; but Bo- 
 reas was not in the ascendant, nor any of his brethren 
 either, much, for we had very little wind from any quarter. 
 The current in the Skager Rack took us outwardly about 
 two miles an hour, and the wind was southeasterly, and we 
 were bound in. One tack would throw us near the coast of 
 Norway, and the next brought us along the low, flat sands 
 of Jutland. We progressed from twenty-five to fifty miles 
 a day. Several huge steamers boomed past us, with their 
 
320 RAMBLES IN ICELAND. 
 
 black sides, and volumes of smoke, and swift progress. 
 Some of them were bound into the Baltic, and some out, 
 and some to Norwegian ports. At last we rounded the 
 Skagen Horn, and entered the Cattegat. Finally, the tow- 
 ers of Elsinore Castle appeared ; and, a breeze springing 
 up from the north, we dropped anchor before Copen- 
 hagen, the twentieth day after leaving Iceland ; and, 
 in a most terrible rain — so anxious were we to tread the 
 land again — all the passengers were set on the quay, and 
 found lodgings amid the turmoil of a great city. 
 
 >-. UmI 
 
 Ki 
 
GENERAL INDEX 
 
GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Adam of Bremen, page 41. 
 
 ^Etna, 142, 151. 
 
 Agriculture in Iceland, 178, 303. 
 
 Almannagja, 73. 
 
 Althing, or Iceland Congress, 42, 45, 78. 
 
 Althing, Journal of, 296. 
 
 America discovered by the Northmen, 36. 
 
 Angelica Archangelica, 125. 
 
 Angling, 78. 
 
 Annexation of an island to Denmark, 148. 
 
 Apavatn Lake, 97. 
 
 Arbrandsa river, 115. 
 
 Arnason, Jon, Librarian of Public Library, 309. 
 
 Atmosphere, its transparency, 141. 
 
 Barrow, the English traveler, 206. 
 
 Bath in the Geyser, 111. 
 
 Beard a protection against the elements, 121. 
 
 Beards worn in Iceland, 60. 
 
 Beards worn by the gods, 249. 
 
 Bessastath, 63. 
 
 Biarni Heriulfson, the First Discoverer of America, 63. 
 
 Birds — the curlew, 169; cormorant, 223; eider-duck, 219; west- 
 ern eider, 221 ; fulmar, 168; gannet, or solan goose, 31, 224; 
 Iceland gull, 228 ; skua gull, 228 ; jer-falcon, 230 ; white owl, 
 229; penguin, 222; plover, 169; pochard, 118; ptarmigan, 90; 
 puffin, 163, 168; ravens, 114, 170; sea-fowl on the Westmann 
 Islands, 163; on the coast of Iceland, 198; snow-birds, 226; 
 tern, or sea-swallow, 107, 198. 
 
324 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bjarnarfell mountain, 112. 
 
 Bjolfell mountain, 141, 145. 
 
 Blaeksmithing, 89. 
 
 Blue berry, the only fruit in Iceland, 157. 
 
 Books published in Iceland, 295. 
 
 Brsethratunga church, 119. 
 
 Brandy, use of it in Iceland, 180. 
 
 Breithifjorth, 313. 
 
 Briem, Rev. Johan, 123. 
 
 Brinjulfsson, Gisli, 311. 
 
 Bruara or Bridge River, 9*7. 
 
 Bruce's Address, in Icelandic and English, 286-7. 
 
 Brydone, 93, 135. 
 
 Caraway growing spontaneously in Iceland, 125. 
 
 Cathedral worship in Reykjavik, 306. 
 
 Cattegat, 1*7, 21, 22, 320. 
 
 Cave in a hill, 90. 
 
 Cave of Surtshellir, 109, 243, note. 
 
 Christianity introduced into Iceland, 82. 
 
 Christiansand, 23, 319. 
 
 Churchyards and burial customs, 178. 
 
 Clays, beautifully colored, 102, 191, 200, 208, 
 
 College at Reykjavik, 57. 
 
 Columbus, his visit to Iceland, 39. 
 
 Copenhagen, 17, 320. 
 
 Craters of Hekla, 138, 143. 
 
 Dancing on ship-board, 317. 
 Danish laws in Iceland, 298. 
 Danish merchants in Reykjavik, 30G. 
 Dining on Mount Hekla, 140. 
 Diseases in Iceland, 305. 
 Domestic animals of Iceland, 55. 
 Domestic labor of the Icelanders, 58, 293. 
 
 Eddas, poems of the early Icelanders, 271. 
 Edda, the Elder; ascribed to Seemund Frode, 271. 
 Edda, the Younger; ascribed to Snorri Sturlason, 272. 
 Egilson, Sweinborn, 52, 308. 
 
INDEX. 325 
 
 Eider-down beds, 127, 218. 
 
 Elsinore castle and town, 17, 22, 320. - 
 
 Eric the Red, 35. 
 
 Ericsson, descendant of Eric the Red, 36. 
 
 Exports of Iceland, 56, 298. 
 
 EyjafjallaJokull, 142, 151, 160, 315. 
 
 Farming -in Iceland, 179, 182, 303. 
 
 Farming tools, 117. 
 
 Faroe Isles, 24, 25, 233. 
 
 Feasts, in old times, 59. 
 
 Ferryman on the Hvita river, 185. 
 
 Fish, Iceland method of curing, 215. 
 
 Fishing season in Iceland, 116. 
 
 Fish lake, its disappearance, 152. 
 
 Finn Magnusen, 37. 
 
 Finnsen, William, Treasurer of Iceland, 28. 
 
 Floki, a pirate, 170. 
 
 Flower on Mount Hekla, 136. 
 
 Flowers on a desert island, 121. 
 
 Fourth of July at sea, 23, 24. 
 
 Franklin's Story of a Whistle, in Icelandic, 289. 
 
 French officers traveling in Iceland, 66, 70, 76, 84. 
 
 French vessel wrecked in Iceland, 315. 
 
 Game in Iceland, 55, 56, 90, 169, 170. 
 
 GTardar Swarfarson, 35. 
 
 Garden vegetables, 62, 179. 
 
 Geimar's Iceland, Greenland, and Spitzbergen, 317. 
 
 Geographical names and terms, 85. 
 
 Geyser, Eruptions of, 105. 
 
 Geyser, its appearance when still, 100. 
 
 Gissur Thorvaldsen, son-in-law of Snorri Sturlason, 274. 
 
 Graba, a Danish traveler in Faroe, 236. 
 
 Greenland, discovery of, 35. 
 
 Grenadier island, 31, 314. 
 
 Grcenavatn, or Green Lake, 142, 201. 
 
 Gudmundsen, Thomas, 175. 
 
326 INDEX. 
 
 Hacon, King of Norway, 2*74. 
 Hafnarfiorth, 63, 213, 215. 
 Havamal, an Eddaic Poem, 275. 
 Haying season, 803. 
 Heath, 157, 158, 159. 
 Heitnskringla, 275. 
 Hjalli, 195. 
 Hekla, ascent of, 132. 
 
 " Catalogue of its eruptions, 153. 
 
 " its height, 315. 
 
 " its last eruption, in 1845, 134, 138. 
 
 " seen from a distance, 95, 115, 128, 161, 314. 
 
 " View from the summit, 140, 151. 
 Helsingborg, 21. 
 
 Herdisa, wife of Snorri Sturlason, 273. 
 Hlitharvatn, 198. 
 Holland, Dr. 135, 297. 
 " Horrible Lava," 211. 
 Horses in Iceland, 65, 116, 129, 298. 
 Hospitality of the Icelanders, 197. 
 Hot Springs, 187. 
 Hraungerthi, 177. 
 
 Hruni, and its hospitable clergyman, 122. 
 Hunting sea-fowl in the Westmann islands, 1 63. 
 Hvita or White river, 118, 119, 185. 
 
 Iceland, its discovery and settlement, 35. 
 
 " its situation and extent, 48. 
 
 " Hymn, Jacob weeping over Rachel, 288. 
 
 " Newspaper, quotation from, 291. 
 
 ■ Youths educated in France, 316. 
 Icelander in the Wars of Napoleon, 293. 
 Icelandic language, 270. 
 
 Icelandic poetry, its peculiar construction, 282. 
 Imports of Iceland, 56. 
 
 Indians in America in battle with the Icelanders, 38 
 Ingolf, plants the first settlement in Iceland, 35. 
 Islands, Sandey and Nesey, in Thingvalla Lake, 92. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 327 
 
 Johnson, Bjarni, President of the Iceland college at Reykjavik, 63, 
 66, 74, 11, 217. 
 Bjarni, letters from, 300, 307, 309. 
 " Misses, 308, 311. 
 
 Mr. of Hafnarfiorth, 63, 21 3. 
 Jonson, Rev. at Vogsosar, 196. 
 
 Kirkubcer, 139. 
 Krisuvik, 200. 
 
 Ladies riding on horseback, 91, 215. 
 
 Laugardalr, or Vale of Warm Springs, 94. 
 
 Laugarfjall mountain, 112. 
 
 Laugman, or administrator of the la % ws, 42. 
 
 Lava, 93, 126, 211. 
 
 Lava from eruption of Mount Hekla, 134, 146. 
 
 Laxa, or Salmon river, 68, 124. 
 
 Lilloise, French vessel lost in the Arctic Sea, 316. 
 
 Lindesness, Cape, 319. 
 
 Literature of Iceland, 52, 270, 281. 
 
 Louis Philippe's liberality to the Icelanders, 316. 
 
 Markarfliot river, 161, 
 
 Marsh, Hon. Geo. P., opinion of the Icelandic language, 292. 
 
 Meadows in Iceland, 115, 116, 125. 
 
 Meal Sack island, .31, 314. 
 
 Milton's Paradise Lost, translated by Thorlakson, 53; extracts 
 
 from, 283. 
 Mud Geyser, 206. 
 Myggeness island, 236. 
 Mythology of the Scandinavians, 242. 
 
 " Index to, 331. 
 Myvatn, 203. 
 
 Needles, the, 314. 
 Newspapers in Iceland, 296. 
 Newspaper, quotation from, 291. 
 Ncefrholt, 129, 159. 
 NorSurfari, 312. 
 
328 INDEX. 
 
 Norway, coast of, 23, 319. 
 Norwegian collectors in Faroe, 240. 
 
 Ornithology of Iceland, 218, 226. 
 
 Petrifactions, 191. 
 
 Pfeiffer, Madam, 95, 123, 161. 
 
 Philmore, Mr., an English traveler, 210. * 
 
 Plum-pudding Stone, 199. 
 
 Pope's Essay on Man, in Icelandic, 53. 
 
 " " Quotation from, 285. 
 Portland, or Dyarholar, 315. 
 Postal arrangements in Iceland, 56. 
 Post-ship, time of sailing, 56. 
 Products of Iceland, 55, 56, 295, 898. 
 
 Ranthrys, Mr. 308. 
 
 Reindeer in Iceland, 55, 170. 
 
 Reykir Springs, 18*7. 
 
 Reykjaness Cape, 31, 314. 
 
 Reyjavik, the capital of Iceland, 32, 306. 
 
 River of fire, 149. 
 
 Rolling stones down hill, 130. 
 
 Roses in Iceland, 167. 
 
 Ssemund Frode, 271. 
 
 Sagas, historical writings of the Icelanders, 271. 
 
 Scandinavian Commission, 316. 
 
 Scythes used by the Icelanders, 115, 305. 
 
 Sharks, 26. 
 
 Ship from Iceland; the "Saga," 302. 
 
 Sivertsen, the Misses, and Mr., 308, 311. 
 
 Sivertsen, Mr., jun., 316, 317. 
 
 Skagen Horn, 320. 
 
 Skager Rack, 319. 
 
 Skalds or Minstrels, 42. 
 
 Skalholt, 44, 172. 
 
 Skaptar Jokull, 115, 147, 151. 
 
 « " Great eruption of, 147. 
 Skarth, 127, 159. 
 
INDEX. 329 
 
 Sleeping in a church, 12*7. 
 
 Snafell Jokull, 151, 313. ' 
 
 Snorri Thorfinson, first European born in America, 37. 
 
 Snow on Mount Hekla, 137, 146. 
 
 Spallanzani, 135. 
 
 Stapi and basaltic cliffs, 314. 
 
 Steam jet in the Sulphur Mountains, 205. 
 
 Steam power without fuel, 205, 208. 
 
 Stifftamptman, 45. 
 
 Stilhoff, Captain, 318. 
 
 Strandar Kirkja, 197. 
 
 Strokr or New Geyser, 104, 108. 
 Submarine eruption, 147. 
 Sulphur Mountains, 200-208. 
 Superstition among the Northmen, 195. 
 Surtshellir cave, 109, 243, note. 
 Sveinson, Jon, 309. 
 Swein Ethrithson, 41. 
 Swimming a river, 119. 
 Sysselman, a merry one, 173. 
 
 Thingvalla, 43, 73, 78. 
 
 Thingvalla Lake, 72. 
 
 Thiorsa river, 115, 126, 159, 172, 315. 
 
 Thorarensen, Rev. S., 177. 
 
 Thorarensen, Stefan, 178, 185. 
 
 Thorlakson, Jon, the Iceland Poet, 53, 281. 
 
 Thorlakson's Translation of Milton and Pope, 282. 
 
 Thorwaldsen, 37, 52. 
 
 Tindfjalla Jokull, 142, 151, 160, 314. 
 
 Tin Tron, an exhausted crater, 94. 
 
 Torfa Jokull, 314. 
 
 Trade of Iceland ; probable results of opening it to the world, 299, 
 
 302. 
 Trollekone-finger, or Witch's-finger, in Faroe, 236. 
 Trout-fishing in Iceland, 74, 76. 
 
 Vestri Ranga, river, 129. * 
 Vesuvius, 142, 151. 
 
 Vinland, the name given to America by the Icelanders, 3?. 
 15 
 
330 INDEX. 
 
 Vogelberg chasm, in Faroe, 23*7. 
 
 Vogsosar, 196. 
 
 Volcanic island rising from the sea, 147. 
 
 Volcanic sand, 135, 199. 
 
 Voluspa, the song of the Prophetess, 2*75. 
 
 Westmann Islands, 141, 161, 165 y 166. 
 Whales, 25, 26, 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO THE 
 
 rauMnalriau Unt^Iop 
 
 ^Egir, tlie deity of the ocean ; a Jotun, 249, 258. 
 
 iEsir, the gods of the Scandinavians, 242, 246, 265. 
 
 Afi, grandfather, and Ammi, grandmother, and their descendants, 
 268. 
 
 Ai, great grandfather, and Edda, great grandmother, and their de- 
 scendants, 268. 
 
 Annar, husband of Night, and father of Jord, 254. 
 
 Arvak and Alsvid, the horses of Sol, 255. 
 
 Asgard, the city of the iEsir, or home of the gods, 246 
 
 Ask and Embla, the first man and first woman, 268. 
 
 Audhumla, the cow on whose milk Ymir subsisted, 243. 
 
 Baldur the Good, son of Odin, 248, 266. 
 
 his death, 263. 
 Beli, a giant, slain by Frey, 250. 
 Bergelmie, a frost-giant, 244. 
 Besla, wife of Bor, 243. 
 
 Bifrost the Rainbow, a bridge from earth to heaven, 246. 
 Bilskirnir, the mansion of Thor, 248. 
 Bor, father of Odin, Vili, and Ve, 243. 
 Bragi, the god of Poetry, son of Odin, 249. 
 Breidablik, the mansion of Baldur, 248. 
 Bur, the father of Bor, 243. 
 
 Castes, or classes in Scandinavian society, 269. 
 
332 MYTHOLOGICAL INDEX. 
 
 Day, son of Night and Delling, 254. 
 Dwarfs, 253. 
 
 Eir, presides over the art of healing, 252. 
 Embla, the first woman, 268. 
 Elvidnir, the hall of Hela, 256. 
 
 Fenrir, a wolf, offspring of Loki, 255, 265. 
 
 Fensalir, the mansion of Friga, 252. 
 
 Forseti, the god of Justice, 249. 
 
 Freki and Geri, Odin's wolves, 246. 
 
 Frey, the son of Njord and Skadi, 250. 
 
 Frey in battle with Surtur, 265. 
 
 Freyja, daughter of Njord, and wife of Odur, 250, 252. 
 
 Friga, wife of Odin, 24*7, 252. 
 
 Fulla, a maid, attendant of Friga, 252. 
 
 Garm, a dog that kills Tyr, 266. 
 
 Gefjon, a maid, attendant of Friga, 252. 
 
 Gerda, one of the most beautiful of women, 250. 
 
 Geri and Freki, wolves of Odin, 246. 
 
 Ginnungagap, the space between the upper and lower worlds, 243. 
 
 Gjallar-horn, the trumpet of Heimdal, 251, 265. 
 
 Gladsheim, Odin's hall of Justice, 258. 
 
 Gleipnir, a fetter, 255. 
 
 Glitnir, the mansion of Forseti, 249. 
 
 Gna, messenger of Friga, 253. 
 
 Golden Age, 258. 
 
 Gulltopp, the horse of Heimdall, 251. 
 
 Hati and Skoll, two wolves, 255. 
 
 Heimdall, the sentry of the gods, 251, 265, 266. 
 
 Hel or Helheim, the abode of Death, 256-258. 
 
 Hela, or Death, 255, 256. 
 
 .Hermod the Nimble, son of Odin, 246, 263. 
 
 Hlidskjalf, Odin's throne, 246. 
 
 Hnossa, daughter of Odur and Freyja, 252. 
 
 Hodmimir's forest, where Lif is concealed, 266. 
 
 Hodnr, a blind deity, 251, 263, 266. 
 
MYTHOLOGICAL INDEX, 333 
 
 Hofvarpnir, the horse of Gna, 253. 
 
 Hrimfaxi, the horse of Night, 254. 
 
 Hringljom, the ship of Baldur, 263. 
 
 Hugin and Munin, Odin's ravens, 246. # 
 
 Hvergelmir, a fountain in Nifiheim, 243, 245. 
 
 Hymir, a giant, 259. 
 
 Hyrrokin, a giantess of Jotunheim, 264. 
 
 Ida, a plain where Asgard formerly stood, 266. 
 Iduna,the goddess of Eternal Youth, 249. 
 
 Jotunheim, or land of giants, 245. 
 Jotuns, giants of Jotunheim, 245. 
 
 Lif a woman, and Lifthrasir a man, who survive the destruction of 
 
 the world, 266. 
 Lofna, the friend of Lovers, 252. 
 Loki, the god of all evil, 255, 259, 263, 265, 266. 
 
 Magni and Modi, sons of Thor, 248, 252, 266. 
 
 Manheim, the home of man, 24*7, 268. 
 
 Mani, the Moon, 254. 
 
 Midgard, or Mid-earth 244, 24V. . 
 
 Midgard serpent, 255, 256, 265. 
 
 Mimir and Mimir's "Well, 245. 
 
 Mjolnir, Thor's Mallet, 247. 
 
 Modi and Magni, sons of Thor, 248, 252, 266. 
 
 Munin or Memory, one of Odin's ravens, 246. 
 
 Muspell or Muspelheim, the upper world, 242. 
 
 Mythology of the Northmen, 242. 
 
 Nanna, wife of Baldur, 249, 264. 
 Nidhogg, a dragon, 245. 
 Nifiheim, the lower world, 242. 
 Night, the daughter of Njorvi, 254. 
 Njord, the ruler of the sea, 250. 
 Njorvi, a giant, father of Night, 254. 
 Norns, inferior deities, 253. 
 
 Odin, the supreme head, leader of the JEsir, and father of all the 
 gods, 170, 244, 245, 246, 247, 266. 
 
334 MYTHOLOGICAL INDEX. 
 
 Ragnarok, the end of all things, 256, 265. 
 
 Ran, wife of iEgir, 249. 
 
 Ratatosk, the squirrel on the Ash, 245. 
 
 Rinda, the mother of Vali, 251. 
 
 Roskva the Quick, attendant of Thor, 248, 259. 
 
 Saga, the goddess of history, 252. 
 
 Skadi, the wife of Njord, 250. 
 
 Skidbladnir, a famous ship belonging to Frey, 266-7. 
 
 Skinfaxi, the horse of Day, 254. 
 
 Skirnir, messenger of Frey, 250. 
 
 Skoll and Hati, wolves that pursue the sun and moon, 255. 
 
 Sleipnir, the horse of Odin, 246. 
 
 Sokkvabek, the house of Saga, 252. 
 
 Sol, the source of light, 254. 
 
 Surtur, chief of the chaotic demons, 242, 265. 
 
 Surturbrand, or fire of Surtur, 109, 242, note. 
 
 Thjalfi, the Nimble, attendant of Thor, 248, 259. 
 Thor, son of Odin, the god of Thunder, 128, 247. 
 Thor encounters the Midgard serpent, 262-265, 266. 
 Thor's adventures in Jotunheim, 258, 259, 260, 261. 
 Thrudyang, the home of Thor, 248. 
 Tyr, the god of Bravery, 255, 259. 
 
 Ullur, the archer, son of Sif, 251. 
 Utgard, a city in Jotunheim, 260. 
 Utgard-Loki, King of Utgard, 260. 
 
 Valaskjalf, the mansion of Odin, 246. 
 
 Valhalla, the home or world of the slain, 253, 256, 257, 258. 
 
 Vali, son of Odin and Rinda, 251. 225, 266. 
 
 Valkyrjor, the goddesses of Valhalla, 253. 
 
 Vidarthe Silent, son of Odin, 251, 252, 266. 
 
 Vigrid, the last battlefield of the gods, 265. 
 
 Vili and Ve, sons of Bor, 244. 
 
 Vora, the punisher of perjured lovers, 252. 
 
 Yggdrasill, the Ash tree, 245. 
 
 Ymir, progenitor of the Frost-giants, 243, 244. 
 
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