May 25th.
Stiftsamtmann von H--- was to-day kind enough to pay me a visit, and to
invite me to join his party for a ride to the great lake Vatne. I gladly
accepted the invitation, for, according to the description given by the
Stiftsamtmann, I hoped to behold a very Eden, and rejoiced at the
prospect of observing the recreations of the higher classes, and at the
same time gaining many acquisitions in specimens of plants, butterflies,
and beetles. I resolved also to test the capabilities of the Icelandic
horses more thoroughly than I had been able to do during my first ride
from Havenfiord to Reikjavik, as I had been obliged on that occasion to
ride at a foot-pace, on account of my old guide.
The hour of starting was fixed for two o'clock. Accustomed as I am to
strict punctuality, I was ready long before the appointed time, and at
two o'clock was about to hasten to the place of rendezvous, when my
hostess informed me I had plenty of time, for Herr von H--- was still at
dinner. Instead of meeting at two o'clock, we did not assemble until
three, and even then another quarter of an hour elapsed before the
cavalcade started. Oh, Syrian notions of punctuality and dispatch!
Here, almost at the very antipodes, did I once more greet ye.
The party consisted of the nobility and the town dignitaries. Among the
former class may be reckoned Stiftsamtmann von H--- and his lady; a privy
councillor, Herr von B---, who had been sent from Copenhagen to attend
the "Allthing" (political assembly); and a Danish baron, who had
accompanied the councillor. I noticed among the town dignitaries the
daughter and wife of the apothecary, and the daughters of some merchants
resident here.
Our road lay through fields of lava, swamps, and very poor grassy
patches, in a great valley, swelling here and there into gentle
acclivities, and shut in on three sides by several rows of mountains,
towering upwards in the most diversified shapes. In the far distance
rose several jokuls or glaciers, seeming to look proudly down upon the
mountains, as though they asked, "Why would ye draw men's eyes upon you,
where we glisten in our silver sheen?" In the season of the year at
which I beheld them, the glaciers were still very beautiful; not only
their summits, but their entire surface, as far as visible, being covered
with snow. The fourth side of the valley through which we travelled was
washed by the ocean, which melted as it were into the horizon in
immeasurable distance. The coast was dotted with small bays, having the
appearance of so many lakes.
As the road was good, we could generally ride forward at a brisk pace.
Occasionally, however, we met with small tracts on which the Icelandic
horse could exercise its sagacity and address. My horse was careful and
free from vice; it carried me securely over masses of stone and chasms in
the rocks, but I cannot describe the suffering its trot caused me. It is
said that riding is most beneficial to those who suffer from
liver-complaints. This may be the case; but I should suppose that any
one who rode upon an Icelandic horse, with an Icelandic side-saddle,
every day for the space of four weeks, would find, at the expiration of
that time, her liver shaken to a pulp, and no part of it remaining.
All the rest of the party had good English saddles, mine alone was of
Icelandic origin. It consisted of a chair, with a board for the back.
The rider was obliged to sit crooked upon the horse, and it was
impossible to keep a firm seat. With much difficulty I trotted after the
others, for my horse would not be induced to break into a gallop.
At length, after a ride of an hour and a half, we reached a valley. In
the midst of a tolerably green meadow I descried what was, for Iceland, a
farm of considerable dimensions, and not far from this farm was a very
small lake. I did not dare to ask if this was the _great_ lake Vatne, or
if this was the delicious prospect I had been promised, for my question
would have been taken for irony. I could not refrain from wonder when
Herr von H--- began praising the landscape as exquisite, and farther
declaring the effect of the lake to be bewitching. I was obliged, for
politeness' sake, to acquiesce, and leave them in the supposition that I
had never seen a larger lake nor a finer prospect.
We now made a halt, and the whole party encamped in the meadow. While
the preparations for a social meal were going on, I proceeded to satisfy
my curiosity.
The peasant's house first attracted my attention. I found it to consist
of one large chamber, and two of smaller size, besides a storeroom and
extensive stables, from which I judged that the proprietor was rich in
cattle. I afterwards learnt that he owned fifty sheep, eight cows, and
five horses, and was looked upon as one of the richest farmers in the
neighbourhood. The kitchen was situated at the extreme end of the
building, and was furnished with a chimney that seemed intended only as a
protection against rain and snow, for the smoke dispersed itself
throughout the whole kitchen, drying the fish which hung from the
ceiling, and slowly making its exit through an air-hole.
The large apartment boasted a wooden bookshelf, containing about forty
volumes. Some of these I turned over, and in spite of my limited
knowledge of the Danish language, could make out enough to discover that
they were chiefly on religious subjects. But the farmer seemed also to
love poetry; among the works of this class in his library, I noticed
Kleist, Muller, and even Homer's _Odyssey_. I could make nothing of the
Icelandic books; but on inquiring their contents, I was told that they
all treated of religious matters.
After inspecting these, I walked out into the meadow to search for
flowers and herbs. Flowers I found but few, as it was not the right time
of the year for them; my search for herbs was more successful, and I even
found some wild clover. I saw neither beetles nor butterflies; but, to
my no small surprise, heard the humming of two wild bees, one of which I
was fortunate enough to catch, and took home to preserve in spirits of
wine.
On rejoining my party, I found them encamped in the meadow around a
table, which had in the meantime been spread with butter, cheese, bread,
cake, roast lamb, raisins and almonds, a few oranges, and wine. Neither
chairs nor benches were to be had, for even wealthy peasants only possess
planks nailed to the walls of their rooms; so we all sat down upon the
grass, and did ample justice to the capital coffee which made the
commencement of the meal. Laughter and jokes predominated to such an
extent, that I could have fancied myself among impulsive Italians instead
of cold Northmen.
There was no lack of wit; but to-day I was unfortunately its butt. And
what was my fault?--only my stupid modesty. The conversation was carried
on in the Danish language; some members of our party spoke French and
others German, but I purposely abstained from availing myself of their
acquirements, in order not to disturb the hilarity of the conversation.
I sat silently among them, and was perfectly contented in listening to
their merriment. But my behaviour was set down as proceeding from
stupidity, and I soon gathered from their discourse that they were
comparing me to the "stone guest" in Mozart's _Don Giovanni_. If these
kind people had only surmised the true reason of my keeping silence, they
would perhaps have thanked me for doing so.
As we sat at our meal, I heard a voice in the farmhouse singing an
Icelandic song. At a distance it resembled the humming of bees; on a
nearer approach it sounded monotonous, drawling, and melancholy.
While we were preparing for our departure, the farmer, his wife, and the
servants approached, and shook each of us by the hand. This is the usual
mode of saluting such _high_ people as we numbered among our party. The
true national salutation is a hearty kiss.
On my arrival at home the effect of the strong coffee soon began to
manifest itself. I could not sleep at all, and had thus ample leisure to
make accurate observations as to the length of the day and of the
twilight. Until eleven o'clock at night I could read ordinary print in
my room. From eleven till one o'clock it was dusk, but never so dark as
to prevent my reading in the open air. In my room, too, I could
distinguish the smallest objects, and even tell the time by my watch. At
one o'clock I could again read in my room.
EXCURSION TO VIDOE.
The little island of Vidoe, four miles distant from Reikjavik, is
described by most travellers as the chief resort of the eider-duck. I
visited the island on the 8th of June, but was disappointed in my
expectations. I certainly saw many of these birds on the declivities and
in the chasms of the rocks, sitting quietly on their nests, but nothing
approaching the thousands I had been led to expect. On the whole, I may
perhaps have seen from one hundred to a hundred and fifty nests.
The most remarkable circumstance connected with the eider-ducks is their
tameness during the period of incubation. I had always regarded as myths
the stories told about them in this respect, and should do so still had I
not convinced myself of the truth of these assertions by laying hands
upon the ducks myself. I could go quite up to them and caress them, and
even then they would not often leave their nests. Some few birds,
indeed, did so when I wished to touch them; but they did not fly up, but
contented themselves with coolly walking a few paces away from the nest,
and there sitting quietly down until I had departed. But those which
already had live young, beat out boldly with their wings when I
approached, struck at me with their bills, and allowed themselves to be
taken up bodily rather than leave the nest. They are about the size of
our ducks; their eggs are of a greenish grey, rather larger than hen's
eggs, and taste very well. Altogether they lay about eleven eggs. The
finest down is that with which they line their nests at first; it is of a
dark grey colour. The Icelanders take away this down, and the first nest
of eggs. The poor bird now robs herself once more of a quantity of down
(which is, however, not of so fine a quality as the first), and again
lays eggs. For the second time every thing is taken from her; and not
until she has a third time lined the nest with her down is the eider-duck
left in peace. The down of the second, and that of the third quality
especially, are much lighter than that of the first. I also was
sufficiently cruel to take a few eggs and some down out of several of the
nests. {34}
I did not witness the dangerous operation of collecting this down from
between the clefts of rocks and from unapproachable precipices, where
people are let down, or to which they are drawn up, by ropes, at peril of
their lives. There are, however, none of these break-neck places in the
neighbourhood of Reikjavik.
SALMON FISHERY.
I made another excursion to a very short distance (two miles) from
Reikjavik, in the company of Herr Bernhoft and his daughter, to the
Laxselv (salmon river) to witness the salmon-fishing, which takes place
every week from the middle of June to the middle of August. It is
conducted in a very simple manner. The fish come up the river in the
spawning season; the stream is then dammed up with several walls of stone
loosely piled to the height of some three feet; and the retreat of the
fish to the sea is thus cut off. When the day arrives on which the
salmon are to be caught, a net is spread behind each of these walls.
Three or four such dams are erected at intervals, of from eighty to a
hundred paces, so that even if the fishes escape one barrier, they are
generally caught at the next. The water is now made to run off as much
as possible; the poor salmon dart to and fro, becoming every moment more
and more aware of the sinking of the water, and crowd to the weirs,
cutting themselves by contact with the sharp stones of which they are
built. This is the deepest part of the water; and it is soon so thronged
with fish, that men, stationed in readiness, can seize them in their
hands and fling them ashore.
The salmon possess remarkable swiftness and strength. The fisherman is
obliged to take them quickly by the head and tail, and to throw them
ashore, when they are immediately caught by other men, who fling them
still farther from the water. If this is not done with great quickness
and care, many of the fishes escape. It is wonderful how these creatures
can struggle themselves free, and leap into the air. The fishermen are
obliged to wear woollen mittens, or they would be quite unable to hold
the smooth salmon. At every day's fishing, from five hundred to a
thousand fish are taken, each weighing from five to fifteen pounds. On
the day when I was present eight hundred were killed. This salmon-stream
is farmed by a merchant of Reikjavik.
The fishermen receive very liberal pay,--in fact, one-half of the fish
taken. And yet they are dissatisfied, and show so little gratitude, as
seldom to finish their work properly. So, for instance, they only
brought the share of the merchant to the harbour of Reikjavik, and were
far too lazy to carry the salmon from the boat to the warehouse, a
distance certainly not more than sixty or seventy paces from the shore.
They sent a message to their employer, bidding him "send some fresh
hands, for they were much too tired." Of course, in a case like this,
all remonstrance is unavailing.
As in the rest of the world, so also in Iceland, every occasion that
offers is seized upon for a feast or a merry-making. The day on which I
witnessed the salmon-fishing happened to be one of the few fine days that
occur during a summer in Iceland. It was therefore unanimously concluded
by several merchants, that the day and the salmon-fishing should be
celebrated by a _dejeuner a la fourchette_. Every one contributed
something, and a plentiful and elegant breakfast was soon arranged, which
quite resembled an entertainment of the kind in our country; this one
circumstance excepted, that we were obliged to seat ourselves on the
ground, by reason of a scarcity of tables and benches. Spanish and
French wines, as well as cold punch, were there in plenty, and the
greatest hilarity prevailed.
I made a fourth excursion, but to a very inconsiderable distance,--in
fact, only a mile and a half from Reikjavik. It was to see a hot and
slightly sulphurous spring, which falls into a river of cold water. By
this lucky meeting of extremes, water can be obtained at any temperature,
from the boiling almost to the freezing point. The townspeople take
advantage of this good opportunity in two ways, for bathing and for
washing clothes. The latter is undoubtedly the more important purpose of
application, and a hut has been erected, in order to shield the poor
people from wind and rain while they are at work. Formerly this hut was
furnished with a good door and with glazed windows, and the key was kept
at an appointed place in the town, whence any one might fetch it. But
the servants and peasant girls were soon too lazy to go for the key; they
burst open the lock, and smashed the windows, so that now the hut has a
very ruinous appearance, and affords but little protection against the
weather. How much alike mankind are every where, and how seldom they do
right, except when it gives them no trouble, and then, unfortunately,
there is not much merit to be ascribed to them, as their doing right is
merely the result of a lucky chance! Many people also bring fish and
potatoes, which they have only to lay in the hot water, and in a short
time both are completely cooked.
This spring is but little used for the purpose of bathing; at most
perhaps by a few children and peasants. Its medicinal virtues, if it
possesses any, are completely unknown.
THE SULPHUR-SPRINGS AND SULPHUR-MOUNTAINS OF KRISUVIK.
The 4th of June was fixed for my departure. I had only to pack up some
bread and cheese, sugar and coffee, then the horses were saddled, and at
seven o'clock the journey was happily commenced. I was alone with my
guide, who, like the rest of his class, could not be considered as a very
favourable specimen of humanity. He was very lazy, exceedingly
self-interested, and singularly loath to devote any part of his attention
either to me or to the horses, preferring to concentrate it upon brandy,
an article which can unfortunately be procured throughout the whole
country.
I had already seen the district between Reikjavik and Havenfiord at my
first arrival in Iceland. At the present advanced season of the year it
wore a less gloomy aspect: strawberry-plants and violets,--the former,
however, without blossoms, and the latter inodorous,--were springing up
between the blocks of lava, together with beautiful ferns eight or ten
inches high. In spite of the trifling distance, I noticed, as a rule,
that vegetation was here more luxuriant than at Reikjavik; for at the
latter place I had found no strawberry-plants, and the violets were not
yet in blossom. This difference in the vegetation is, I think, to be
ascribed to the high walls of lava existing in great abundance round
Havenfiord; they protect the tender plants and ferns from the piercing
winds. I noticed that both the grass and the plants before mentioned
throve capitally in the little hollows formed by masses of lava.
A couple of miles beyond Havenfiord I saw the first birch-trees, which,
however, did not exceed two or three feet in height, also some
bilberry-plants. A number of little butterflies, all of one colour, and,
as it seemed to me, of the same species, fluttered among the shrubs and
plants.
The manifold forms and varied outline of the lava-fields present a
remarkable and really a marvellous appearance. Short as this journey
is--for ten hours are amply sufficient for the trip to Krisuvik,--it
presents innumerable features for contemplation. I could only gaze and
wonder. I forgot every thing around me, felt neither cold nor storm, and
let my horse pick his way as slowly as he chose, so that I had once
almost become separated from my guide.
One of the most considerable of the streams of lava lay in a spacious
broad valley. The lava-stream itself, about two miles long, and of a
considerable breadth, traversing the whole of the plain, seemed to have
been called into existence by magic, as there was no mountain to be seen
in the neighbourhood from which it could have emerged. It appeared to be
the covering of an immense crater, formed, not of separate stones and
blocks, but of a single and slightly porous mass of rock ten or twelve
feet thick, broken here and there by clefts about a foot in breadth.
Another, and a still larger valley, many miles in circumference, was
filled with masses of lava shaped like waves, reminding the beholder of a
petrified sea. From the midst rose a high black mountain, contrasting
beautifully with the surrounding masses of light-grey lava. At first I
supposed the lava must have streamed forth from this mountain, but soon
found that the latter was perfectly smooth on all sides, and terminated
in a sharp peak. The remaining mountains which shut in the valley were
also perfectly closed, and I looked in vain for any trace of a crater.
We now reached a small lake, and soon afterwards arrived at a larger one,
called Kleinfarvatne. Both were hemmed in by mountains, which frequently
rose abruptly from the waters, leaving no room for the passage of the
horses. We were obliged sometimes to climb the mountains by fearfully
dizzy paths; at others to scramble downwards, almost clinging to the face
of the rock. At some points we were even compelled to dismount from our
horses, and scramble forward on our hands and knees. In a word, these
dangerous points, which extended over a space of about seven miles, were
certainly quite as bad as any I had encountered in Syria; if any thing,
they were even more formidable.
I was, however, assured that I should have no more such places to
encounter during all my further journeys in Iceland, and this information
quite reconciled me to the roads in this country. For the rest, the path
was generally tolerably safe even during this tour, which continually led
me across fields of lava.
A journey of some eight-and-twenty miles brought us at length into a
friendly valley; clouds of smoke, both small and great, were soon
discovered rising from the surrounding heights, and also from the valley
itself; these were the sulphur-springs and sulphur-mountains.
I could hardly restrain my impatience while we traversed the couple of
miles which separated us from Krisuvik. A few small lakes were still to
be crossed; and at length, at six o'clock in the evening, we reached our
destination.
With the exception of a morsel of bread and cheese, I had eaten nothing
since the morning; still I could not spare time to make coffee, but at
once dismounted, summoned my guide, and commenced my pilgrimage to the
smoking mountains. At the outset our way lay across swampy places and
meadow lands; but soon we had to climb the mountains themselves, a task
rendered extremely difficult by the elastic, yielding soil, in which
every footstep imprinted itself deeply, suggesting to the traveller the
unpleasant possibility of his sinking through,--a contingency rendered
any thing but agreeable by the neighbourhood of the boiling springs. At
length I gained the summit, and saw around me numerous basins filled with
boiling water, while on all sides, from hill and valley, columns of
vapour rose out of numberless clefts in the rocks. From a cleft in one
rock in particular a mighty column of vapour whirled into the air. On
the windward side I could approach this place very closely. The ground
was only lukewarm in some places, and I could hold my hand for several
moments to the gaps from which steam issued. No trace of a crater was to
be seen. The bubbling and hissing of the steam, added to the noise of
the wind, occasioned such a deafening clamour, that I was very glad to
feel firmer ground beneath my feet, and to leave the place in haste. It
really seemed as if the interior of the mountain had been a boiling
caldron. The prospect from these mountains is very fine. Numerous
valleys and mountains innumerable offered themselves to my view, and I
could even discern the isolated black rock past which I had ridden five
or six hours previously.
I now commenced my descent into the valley; at a few hundred paces the
bubbling and hissing were already inaudible. I supposed that I had seen
every thing worthy of notice; but much that was remarkable still
remained. I particularly noticed a basin some five or six feet in
diameter, filled with boiling mud. This mud has quite the appearance of
fine clay dissolved in water; its colour was a light grey.
From another basin, hardly two feet in diameter, a mighty column of steam
shot continually into the air with so much force and noise that I started
back half stunned, and could have fancied the vault of heaven would
burst. This basin is situated in a corner of the valley, closely shut in
on three sides by hills. In the neighbourhood many hot springs gushed
forth; but I saw no columns of water, and my guide assured me that such a
phenomenon was never witnessed here.
There is more danger in passing these spots than even in traversing the
mountains. In spite of the greatest precautions, I frequently sank in
above the ankles, and would then draw back with a start, and find my foot
covered with hot mud. From the place where I had broken through, steam
and hot mud, or boiling water, rose into the air.
Though my guide, who walked before me, carefully probed the ground with
his stick, he several times sank through half-way to the knee. These men
are, however, so much accustomed to contingencies of this kind that they
take little account of them. My guide would quietly repair to the next
spring and cleanse his clothes from mud. As I was covered with it to
above the ankles, I thought it best to follow his example.
For excursions like these it is best to come provided with a few boards,
five or six feet in length, with which to cover the most dangerous
places.
At nine o'clock in the evening, but yet in the full glare of the sun, we
arrived at Krisuvik. I now took time to look at this place, which I
found to consist of a small church and a few miserable huts.
I crept into one of these dens; it was so dark that a considerable time
elapsed before I could distinguish objects, the light was only admitted
through a very small aperture. I found in this hut a few persons who
were suffering from the eruption called "lepra," a disease but too
commonly met with in Iceland. Their hands and faces were completely
covered with this eruption; if it spreads over the whole body the patient
languishes slowly away, and is lost without remedy.
Churches are in this country not only used for purposes of public
worship, but also serve as magazines for provisions, clothes, &c., and as
inns for travellers. I do not suppose that a parallel instance of
desecration could be met with even among the most uncivilised nations. I
was assured, indeed, that these abuses were about to be remedied. A
reform of this kind ought to have been carried out long ago; and even now
the matter seems to remain an open point; for wherever I came the church
was placed at my disposal for the night, and every where I found a store
of fish, tallow, and other equally odoriferous substances.
The little chapel at Krisuvik is only twenty-two feet long by ten broad;
on my arrival it was hastily prepared for my reception. Saddles, ropes,
clothes, hats, and other articles which lay scattered about, were hastily
flung into a corner; mattresses and some nice soft pillows soon appeared,
and a very tolerable bed was prepared for me on a large chest in which
the vestments of the priest, the coverings of the altar, &c., were
deposited. I would willingly have locked myself in, eaten my frugal
supper, and afterwards written a few pages of my diary before retiring to
rest; but this was out of the question. The entire population of the
village turned out to see me, old and young hastened to the church, and
stood round in a circle and gazed at me.
Irksome as this curiosity was, I was obliged to endure it patiently, for
I could not have sent these good people away without seriously offending
them; so I began quietly to unpack my little portmanteau, and proceeded
to boil my coffee over a spirit-lamp. A whispering consultation
immediately began; they seemed particularly struck by my mode of
preparing coffee, and followed every one of my movements with eager eyes.
My frugal meal dispatched, I resolved to try the patience of my audience,
and, taking out my journal, began to write. For a few minutes they
remained quiet, then they began to whisper one to another, "She writes,
she writes," and this was repeated numberless times. There was no sign
of any disposition to depart; I believe I could have sat there till
doomsday, and failed to tire my audience out. At length, after this
scene had lasted a full hour, I could stand it no longer, and was fain to
request my amiable visitors to retire, as I wished to go to bed.
My sleep that night was none of the sweetest. A certain feeling of
discomfort always attaches to the fact of sleeping in a church alone, in
the midst of a grave-yard. Besides this, on the night in question such a
dreadful storm arose that the wooden walls creaked and groaned as though
their foundations were giving way. The cold was also rather severe, my
thermometer inside the church shewing only two degrees above zero. I was
truly thankful when approaching day brought with it the welcome hour of
departure.
June 5th.
The heavy sleepiness and extreme indolence of an Icelandic guide render
departure before seven o'clock in the morning a thing not to be thought
of. This is, however, of little consequence, as there is no night in
Iceland at this time of year.
Although the distance was materially increased by returning to Reikjavik
by way of Grundivik and Keblevik, I chose this route in order to pass
through the wildest of the inhabited tracts in Iceland.
The first stage, from Krisuvik to Grundivik, a distance of twelve to
fourteen miles, lay through fields of lava, consisting mostly of small
blocks of stone and fragments, filling the valley so completely that not
a single green spot remained. I here met with masses of lava which
presented an appearance of singular beauty. They were black mounds, ten
or twelve feet in height, piled upon each other in the most varied forms,
their bases covered with a broad band of whitish-coloured moss, while the
tops were broken into peaks and cones of the most fantastic shapes.
These lava-streams seem to date from a recent period, as the masses are
somewhat scaly and glazed.
Grundivik, a little village of a few wretched cottages, lies like an
oasis in this desert of lava.
My guide wished to remain here, asserting that there was no place between
this and Keblevik where I could pass the night, and that it would be
impossible for our horses, exhausted as they were with yesterday's march,
to carry us to Keblevik that night. The true reason of this suggestion
was that he wished to prolong the journey for another day.
Luckily I had a good map with me, and by dint of consulting it could
calculate distances with tolerable accuracy; it was also my custom before
starting on a journey to make particular inquiries as to how I should
arrange the daily stages.
So I insisted upon proceeding at once; and soon we were wending our way
through fields of lava towards Stad, a small village six or seven miles
distant from Grundivik.
On the way I noticed a mountain of most singular appearance. In colour
it closely resembled iron; its sides were perfectly smooth and shining,
and streaks of the colour of yellow ochre traversed it here and there.
Stad is the residence of a priest. Contrary to the assertions of my
guide, I found this place far more cheerful and habitable than Grundivik.
Whilst our horses were resting, the priest paid me a visit, and conducted
me, not, as I anticipated, into his house, but into the church. Chairs
and stools were quickly brought there, and my host introduced his wife
and children to me, after which we partook of coffee, bread and cheese,
&c. On the rail surrounding the altar hung the clothes of the priest and
his family, differing little in texture and make from those of the
peasants.
The priest appeared to be a very intelligent, well-read man. I could
speak the Danish language pretty fluently, and was therefore able to
converse with him on various subjects. On hearing that I had already
been in Palestine, he put a number of questions to me, from which I could
plainly see that he was alike well acquainted with geography, history,
natural science, &c. He accompanied me several miles on my road, and we
chatted away the time very pleasantly.
The distance between Krisuvik and Keblevik is about forty-two miles. The
road lies through a most dreary landscape, among vast desert plains,
frequently twenty-five to thirty miles in circumference, entirely
divested of all traces of vegetation, and covered throughout their
extreme area by masses of lava--gloomy monuments of volcanic agency. And
yet here, at the very heart of the subterranean fire, I saw only a single
mountain, the summit of which had fallen in, and presented the appearance
of a crater. The rest were all completely closed, terminating sometimes
in a beautiful round top, and sometimes in sharp peaks; in other
instances they formed long narrow chains.
Who can tell whence these all-destroying masses of lava have poured
forth, or how many hundred years they have lain in these petrified
valleys?
Keblevik lies on the sea-coast; but the harbour is insecure, so that
ships remain here at anchor only so long as is absolutely necessary;
there are frequently only two or three ships in the harbour.
A few wooden houses, two of which belong to Herr Knudson, and some
peasants' cottages, are the only buildings in this little village. I was
hospitably received, and rested from the toils of the day at the house of
Herr Siverson, Herr Knudson's manager.
On the following day (June 6th) I had a long ride to Reikjavik,
thirty-six good miles, mostly through fields of lava.
The whole tract of country from Grundivik almost to Havenfiord is called
"The lava-fields of Reikianes."
Tired and almost benumbed with cold, I arrived in the evening at
Reikjavik, with no other wish than to retire to rest as fast as possible.
In these three days I had ridden 114 miles, besides enduring much from
cold, storms, and rain. To my great surprise, the roads had generally
been good; there were, however, many places highly dangerous and
difficult.
But what mattered these fatigues, forgotten, as they were, after a single
night's rest? what were they in comparison to the unutterably beautiful
and marvellous phenomena of the north, which will remain ever present to
my imagination so long as memory shall be spared me?
The distances of this excursion were: From Reikjavik to Krisuvik, 37
miles; from Krisuvik to Keblevik, 39 miles; from Keblevik to Reikjavik,
38 miles: total, 114 miles.