VOLCANOES.
In the foregoing pages it may seem strange that hardly any allusion has
been made to the special characteristic of Iceland, viz., its volcanic
structure, or to the numerous lava floods which, bursting forth in
furious molten streams, have from time to time devastated its surface,
leaving in their track a chaos of disrupted rocks, chasms, vast
fissures, and subterranean caverns.
Our trip to Iceland was, however, unfortunately so limited in duration
as to preclude, save in our four days' ride to the Great Geyser tract,
any extension of travel in the various volcanic regions. Hence the
omission. I have therefore extracted the following data relative to its
principal volcanoes and their eruptions from such books of reference
[Footnote: Mrs Somerville's 'Physical Geography;' Chambers'
'Encyclopædia;' Ree's 'Cyclopædia;' Lyell's 'Geology;' Mr George Lock's
'Guide to Iceland.'] as have been available to me.
The annexed compilation will, I think, explain to such of my readers as
are not acquainted with the geological strata of Iceland, its sterile
nature, the extreme poverty of its inhabitants, and the constant terror
under which their existence is passed, lest a fresh outbreak of lava
should sweep away both them and their homesteads. It is somewhat
singular, that although Iceland may be looked upon as a veritable mass
of volcanoes and hot springs--for with the exception of some 4000 square
miles of habitable ground, it may be said literally to rest on
underground fires, and while the various eruptions of Etna, Vesuvius,
and other volcanoes have for centuries been watched and recorded in the
public papers with interest--it is only comparatively recently that the
awe-inspiring volcanic eruptions of Iceland have been brought into
notice. For instance, while full fifty pages in Ree's 'Cyclopædia' are
devoted to the subject of volcanoes, those of Iceland are barely touched
upon; yet their eruptions are by far the most devastating on record. So
limited, indeed, formerly were the researches of science in these
ice-clad regions, that for long Hecla was quoted as its only volcano.
Now that the Island has attracted the further notice of geologists, it
has been shown that there exist no less than twenty volcanic mountains,
all of which have been in active eruption within historic times, and
nearly one hundred eruptions have been chronicled as having taken place
in the Island.
Although Hecla is doubtless the best known of the Iceland volcanoes, it
is by no means the largest; that of 'Askja' (a basket), far surpasses it
in size. This latter volcano lies in a great central desert termed
'Odaxa-hraun' or 'Misdeed Lava Desert,' covering a space of 1200 square
miles, and a most appropriate name it is, for the devastation caused by
its last flood of lava is indescribable.
In one of the convulsions of this mountain in 1875, a quantity of lava
five miles in circumference was disrupted, sinking into the mountain to
a depth of 710 feet, and causing an earthquake which was felt all over
the island. In one region, viz., that of the 'Myvatn's Orœfi' or 'Midge
Lake Desert,' a fissure was opened which extended over 20 miles in a
north-easterly direction, through which molten lava flowed continuously
for four months after the earthquake. Although this fissure is at least
30 miles from Askja, so great was the column of fire thrown up by the
eruption, that it was visible for four successive days at Reykjavik, 100
miles distant. The study of an Icelandic map will show the numerous
volcanic ranges of mountains which intersect the island in almost every
direction.
To the north there will be seen a wonderful volcanic tract. So vast, in
fact, that Professor Johnstrup has termed it the Fire Focus of the
North. To the north-east, again, is found a large lake, called 'Myvata,'
or 'Midge Lake,' with a volcanic range of mountains which stretch from
north to south; the most famous of these are 'Leivhnukr,' and 'Krafla,'
which, after years of quiescence, poured forth such an amount of lava
into the adjoining lake that for many days its waters stood at boiling
heat. Other volcanoes in this region eject with terrible force a
quantity of boiling mineral pitch, throwing up the dark matter
completely enveloped in steam, accompanied by horrible rumbling noises.
Sir George Mackenzie, in his travels in Iceland, thus describes one of
the deposits:--
'It is impossible,' he says, 'to convey any idea of the wonders of its
terrors, or the sensations of a person even of strong nerves standing on
a support which but feebly bears him, and below which fire and brimstone
are in incessant action, having before his eyes tremendous proof of what
is going on beneath him; enveloped in thick vapour, his ears stunned
with thundering noises--such a situation can only be conceived by one
who has experienced it.'
The extent of the sulphur beds too in this region are beyond
calculation: they reproduce themselves every few years. In the vicinity
of 'Krafla' is a curious rock, composed of obsidian, a substance which
closely resembles black glass.
To the south of the Island is another volcano, termed the 'Kotlugja,' or
'Cauldron Rift,' lying among glaciers known as the 'Myrdals Jökull,'
whose eruptions, thirteen of which have been noted, are considered to
have done more mischief than any others in the Island. Between the
Myrdals and the 'Orœja Jökla' lies one of the most noted volcanoes of
Iceland--the 'Skaptar-Jökull,' whose eruption in 1783 is chronicled in
all works on Iceland, as the prodigious floods of lava it poured forth
in that year were unparalleled in historic times. The molten streams
rushing seaward, down the rivers and valleys, the glowing lava leaping
over precipices and rocks, which in after years, when they have cooled
down, resemble petrified cataracts, and now form one of the grand scenic
attractions of the Island.
In Mrs Somerville's 'Physical Geography,' she vividly describes this
eruption, narrating how, commencing in May 1783, it continued pouring
forth its fiery streams with unabated fury until the following August.
So great was the amount of vapour, that the sun was hidden for months,
whilst clouds of ashes were carried hundreds of miles out to sea. The
quantity of matter ejected on this occasion was calculated at from fifty
to sixty thousand millions of cubic yards. The burning lava flowed in a
stream in some places 20 to 30 miles broad, filling up the beds of
rivers, and entering the sea at a distance of 50 miles from where the
eruption occurred. Some of the rivers were not only heated to boiling
point, but were dried up, and the condensed vapour fell as snow and
rain. Epidemic disease followed in the wake of this fearful lava flood.
It was calculated that no less than 1300 persons, and 150,000 sheep and
cattle perished, 20 villages were destroyed. The eruption lasted two
years.
Mr Paulson, a geologist, who visited Iceland eleven years later, found
smoke still issuing from the rocks in the locality.
The heat of this eruption not only re-melted old lavas, and opened fresh
subterranean caverns, but one of its streams was computed to course the
plains to an extent of 50 miles, with a depth of 100 feet, and 12 to 15
feet broad. Another stream was calculated at 40 miles long, and 7 wide.
Men, their cattle and homesteads, their churches and grazing lands, were
burnt up, whilst noxious vapours not only filled the air, but even
shrouded the light of the sun.
The terrible convulsions which occurred in Iceland during the year 1783,
were greater than those recorded at any other period. About a month
previously to the convulsion of 'Skaptar-Jökull,' a submarine volcano
burst out at sea, and so much pumice stone was ejected that the sea was
covered with it for 150 miles round, ships being stopped in their
course, whilst a new island was thrown up, which the King of Denmark
claimed, and named Nyöe, or New Island. Before the year had elapsed,
however, it as speedily disappeared, leaving only a reef of rocks some
30 fathoms under water to mark its site.
But what of Hecla? which is 5000 feet high, and is situated close to the
coast at the Southern end of a low valley, lying between two vast
parallel table lands covered with ice.
If the eruptions of Hecla are not considered to have been quite so
devastating as those just recorded of the 'Skaptar-Jökull,' their
duration has been longer, some of them having lasted six years at a
time.
When Sir George Mackenzie visited Hecla, he found its principal crater
100 feet deep, and curiously enough, it contained a quantity of snow at
the bottom. There are many smaller craters near its summit, the
surrounding rocks, consisting chiefly of lava and basalt, are covered
with loose stones, scoria, and ashes.
A record of the eruptions of Hecla has been chronicled since the 10th
century, and they number 43. One of its most violent convulsions
occurred in the same year as that of the 'Skaptar-Jökull,' viz., in
1783. At a distance of two miles from the crater, the lava flood was one
mile wide, and 40 feet deep, whilst its fine dust was scattered as far
as the Orkney Islands, 400 miles distant.
The mountain itself is composed of sand, grit, and ashes, several kinds
of pumice stone being thrown out of it. It also ejects a quantity of a
species of black jaspars, which look as if they had been burned at the
extremities, while in form they resemble trees and branches. All the
different kinds of lava found in volcanoes are to be met with here, such
as agate, pumice stone, and both black and green lapis obsidian. These
lavas are not all found near the place of eruption, but at some
distance, and on their becoming cold form arches and caverns, the crust
of which being hard rock. The smaller of the caverns are now used by the
Icelanders for sheltering their cattle. The largest of the caves known
is 5034 feet long and from 50 to 54 feet broad and from 34 to 36 feet
high.
It is believed by some geologists that a subterranean channel connects
the volcanic vent of Hecla with the great central one of Askja. This
theory is based on the fact that a number of lava floods have burst
forth simultaneously at different times at great distances from the
volcanoes, leading to the supposition that innumerable subterranean
channels exist in the neighbourhood.
The eruptions attributed to the volcano of Hecla vary much in number,
some authorities saying there have been 40. Mrs Somerville quotes them
at 23, and Mr Locke, in his 'Guide to Iceland,' at 17 in number. In the
latter's work is given a table of most of its principal eruptions. One
of these was of a singular nature; huge chasms opened in the earth, and
for three days the wells and fountains became as white as milk, and new
hot springs sprang into existence.
The twelfth eruption of this mountain was also of unusual violence. It
occurred in January 1597. For twelve days previously to the outbreak
loud reports were heard all over the Island, while no less than eighteen
columns of fire were seen ascending from it during its eruption. The
ashes it threw out covered half the Island.
The seventeenth eruption commenced on the 2d September 1845, and
continued for seven months. On this occasion the ashes were carried over
to Shetland, and the columns of smoke rising from the mountain reached a
height of 14,000 Danish feet.
Such is a brief description of the tremendous forces which dominate
Iceland. Here Nature works in silence for long periods beneath the crust
of the earth, and then, with little or no forewarning, bursts forth in
uncontrollable fury, ruthlessly devastating with its fiery streams
whatever impedes its course.
Who can wonder that, under such existing terrors, the scanty inhabitants
of the Island are a sad and dejected race. A people with death and
terror continually at their doors can hardly be otherwise; whilst
competitive industry, energy, and hopeful prosperity are alike
suppressed by the constant devastations which occur.
With respect to the Thermal Springs, these must be considered as
products of the same underground fires, and which form a second
characteristic of Iceland.
These Springs may be divided into three kinds, viz., those of unceasing
ebullition, those which are only sometimes eruptive, and wells which
merely contain tepid water, though supposed to have been formerly
eruptive.
Professor Bunsen, who passed eleven days by the side of the Great Geyser
in Iceland, attributes the phenomenon to the molecular changes which
take place in water after being subjected to heat. In such
circumstances, water loses much of the air condensed in it, and the
cohesion of the molecules is thereby increased, and a higher temperature
required to boil it. In this state, when boiled, the production of
vapour is so instantaneous as to cause an explosion.
Professor Bunsen found that the water at the bottom of the great
Icelandic Geyser had a higher temperature than that of boiling water,
and that this temperature increasing, finally caused its eruption.
In America, among the hot springs warmed by subterranean vapours, such
as those springing from the sides of 'Nuerode Chilian,' the hot springs
gush out through a bed of perpetual snow.
Among the hot springs of Iceland, Mr G. Loch gives an interesting
description of those known as the 'Northern Geyser' and its tributary
springs. One of these, the 'Uxhaver' or 'Ox Spring' is named from an Ox
having fallen into it, and in a short time having been thrown out in the
form of boiled beef. This hot spring emanates from an oval basin, 30
feet in circumference, and 4 feet in diameter. Its spurts are very
regular, occurring about every 6 minutes, and about 10 feet high. After
a spurt the water in the basin is lowered from 4 to 6 feet, but quickly
refills, whilst the water thrown up is clear as crystal, and its spray
glistening in the sun's rays has a most beautiful effect.
The smaller springs in this so-called 'Uxhaver' group are collected in a
bed of rock 280 feet from the principal Geyser, and it is singular that
although separated from it by only 300 yards of boggy ground, the
springs in each bed of rock seem to have a distinct source of supply,
for they are not affected by each other's spoutings. It is impossible
even to enumerate the various hot springs of Iceland, as they are spread
over all its volcanic region.
I must here bring my little book to a close, and if it has done no more
than make my readers desire to make a personal acquaintance with this
wonderful little Island, so full of natural curiosities, so abounding in
ancient history, so isolated, and so quaint, it will have served its
object.
APPENDIX.
_WHAT IS A GEYSER?_
Having been requested by my daughter to add to her little book a short
explanatory chapter on the marvellous phenomenon of Nature she saw in
Iceland, commonly called a Geyser, I herewith subjoin the results of a
few of the observations and reflections I made while visiting the great
geysers of the volcanic districts of Wyoming and Montana, in the autumn
of 1884.
In order to make the matter perfectly clear, let me say at the very
outset that a geyser is simply a volcano from which a quantity of
superheated boiling water, saturated with mineral matter, is
paroxysmally ejected high into the air. Instead of, as in the case of
fire volcanoes, the ejected matters being smoke, flame, lava, scoria,
pumice stone, and scalding mud. Moreover, while the eruptions from all
volcanoes are intermittent--that is to say, every kind of volcano has
alternating periods of activity and repose--the eruptions from geysers
further differ from the fire and flame ejections of burning mountains,
with their other attendant phenomena, in occurring at definite periods
of time, and being of equally definite durations. It is this life-like
periodicity in the geyser's mode of action which makes it as
awe-inspiring to behold as it is puzzling to explain.
That hot water should issue in a continuous and but little varying sized
stream from the bowels of the earth, with a force sufficient to carry it
high into the air, has nothing whatever wonderful about it. Such a
natural phenomenon may be witnessed at many places. For example, it may
be seen doing so everyday at the white foaming, frothing, natural
mineral water sprudel of Nauheim, or at any artificially bored artesian
well, such as the celebrated one at Paris. Nor does the mere
intermittence of water issuing from the bowels of the earth suffice to
surprise one. For such natural phenomena are seen at Bolder-Born, in
Westphalia; the Lay-Well, at Torbay; the Giggleswick Well, in Yorkshire;
and even on a small scale at St Anthony's Well, Arthur's Seat,
Edinburgh; all which occurrences are readily explicable on ordinary
hydraulic principles, and quite different things from geyser action,
which try to explain it as you will, always runs into a volcanic groove.
Yet the periodicity of a geyser's action cannot be said to be entirely
due to volcanic agency. For the mere action of heat on the solids of the
earth's crust, or even of heat in simple conjunction with water,
according to either Mackenzie or Tyndall's theories, [Footnote: Sir G.
S. Mackenzie's 'Travels in Iceland,' in 1810, p. 228. Prof. Tyndall 'On
Heat,' p. 126.] even did they suffice to give a satisfactory explanation
of the action of the geysers in Iceland, are assuredly totally
inadequate to explain the action of all those of the Yellowstone Park.
For the simple reason that the vapours escaping from some of them are so
strongly impregnated with hydrochloric, sulphurous, and sulphuric acid
gases, as well as with sulphuretted hydrogen, as to compel one to
believe that chemical action plays a not unimportant part in the
production of the phenomena there witnessed. Moreover, the solids
brought up by the water closely resemble in chemical composition the
lava ejected from burning mountains, inasmuch as, besides containing a
large percentage of silica and alumina, they likewise consist of lime,
potash, soda, magnesia, and iron, as well as of a small proportion of
other metals, as was guessed at by the beautifully varied green, rose,
yellow, and purple hues of the beds of the streamlets flowing from the
craters of the geysers. The geysers of the Yellowstone, although
situated at the height of 7765 feet above the level of the sea,
nevertheless lie in valleys, for the mountains surrounding them are much
higher still.
Some idea of the force with which the water issues from the earth, may
be formed from the fact that it is in some cases sufficient to carry a
column of over six feet in diameter 200 feet high, for the space of
twenty minutes at a time. And all know that 200 feet is nearly double
the height of any ordinary church steeple. Moreover, the amount of
solids brought up with the water may be imagined when I say that, in one
of the boiling springs, the mixture so closely resembles thick milk
gruel as to have given to it the name of the 'paint-pot,' and so loaded
is its water with mineral matters, that they consolidate almost
immediately after escaping from the spring's outlet. So thick indeed is
it, that I kneaded some into the shape of a brick, which I have still in
my possession. All the geyser water in this district is so charged with
silicious earths that it consolidates sufficiently rapidly to form an
upright rim around each geyser's vent. Just as a fringe of scoria and
lava encircles the mouth of a burning mountain.
The rapidity with which the deposits form and solidify may be
conjectured when I say that I saw trees growing close to some of the
geysers whose stems and lower branches were so encrusted with geyserite
as to give the idea that they were actually petrified. While again I saw
an old horse shoe, which had only been fourteen days in the water, so
completely enveloped with it that it looked exactly as if it had been
hewn out of solid marble.
The mere glancing around, and noticing how the geysers had evidently,
like human beings, but a transient existence, produced a somewhat
strange sensation. For it was perfectly evident that they are born but
to die. All of them appearing to spout themselves permanently out. For
while on one side some seemed just as if they were starting into
existence, on another were those apparently in the very zenith of their
strength, while others again looked as if they were making but their
last feeble efforts at existence, though it was evident, from the heaps
of consolidated geyserite surrounding them, that they had but recently
passed through halcyon days of youthful energy and manhood power. Every
here and there again we came upon others from whose wide open empty
mouths came forth neither a puff of steam nor a drop of water. They were
dead, and not a few of them were so completely eviscerated as to allow
of the explorer to descend with perfect safety into the bowels of the
earth through their vents. Geyser activity is in fact but the last act
in the drama of volcanic life: all around proved this. Close at hand
were stupendous cliffs of pure obsidian--the black bottle glass
manufactured in Nature's furnaces. Even half a mile of our road was
macadamised with it. And so similar not only in chemical composition but
in optical properties is this obsidian to actual glass, that a flat
piece I picked up on the road, just after it had been splintered off a
block by one of the wheels of our carriage, is as transparent as any
piece of black bottle glass of equal thickness. These mountains of
obsidian plainly tell how awfully stupendous must have been the heating
process which called them into existence, as well as how big must be the
cavities left in the bowels of the earth from which the materials
constituting them were obtained. No doubt water scoops out caverns in
the softer strata composing the earth's crust, but these can scarcely be
thought to equal in extent the cavities made by volcanoes. Think, for
example, of what a hole in the earth must have been left by the 50 miles
long and 5 miles broad lava stream which flowed from Mauna Loa in 1859,
and fell as a fiery cascade over a cliff into the sea, in sufficient
amount to fill up a large bay.
The geyser basin is in many places actually honeycombed with various
sized caverns, either directly due to volcanic action, or to water, or
to both combined, and these caverns, though widely apart, may yet freely
communicate with each other by means of subterranean river courses. I
have myself followed one river course into the bowels of the earth for
three miles and more, in the great Adelsberg Grotto, in Styria. I have
rowed across the lake in the dismally dark cavern at Han, in the
Ardennes. And even in our own Derbyshire, I have seen, half-a-mile from
the entrance of the Speedwell Mine, a river, a water-fall, and a lake,
all of which tell that such natural phenomena exist within the bowels of
the earth as well as upon its surface. Moreover, the resounding echoes
from the clatter of our horses' feet as they briskly trotted over some
of the geyserite, as well as the heat we experienced through the thick
leather soles of our boots as we walked across it, was unmistakable
proof that but a thin layer of crust separated the surface of the globe
we were traversing in Wyoming and Montana not alone from vast caverns,
but likewise from still active subterranean fires.
All the preceding facts I have narrated must be borne in mind, in order
that the theory of geyser action I am now about to propound may be
readily understood. For unless the reader believes:--
1st. That cavities of various shapes and sizes exist in the earth's
crust;
2d. That the earth possesses internal lakes as well as rivers;
3d. That there are vast internal fires still actively at work in the
neighbourhood of geysers; and,
4th. That the smell of the acid vapours and sulphuretted hydrogen, as
well as the mineral matters dissolved and suspended in the ejected
waters, are proof positive of chemical activity, he will entirely fail
to perceive the value of my remarks regarding the cause of a geyser's
action being not only spasmodic but periodic.
On the next page is an explanatory diagramatic sketch, in which no
attempt has been made at the impossible, namely, to apportion the size,
the shape, or the situation of the cavities to each other. As they may
in reality be close together, or miles apart. They may all be on the
same level, or more likely not. They may be of nearly equal dimensions,
or of varying sizes. It matters not one whit, for the purposes of the
demonstration of the theory of geyser action now being adduced.
A. A cavernous reservoir, receiving its water supply by streamlet
feeders (_b_) from the hills (_a_). B. A natural, and, it may be,
circuitous syphon conduit, by which the water can only reach chamber (C)
after it has filled tube (B) to the level of the syphon's top,
consequently the supply of water to chamber (C) is intermittent, and
only lasts until the water in chamber (A) has sunk down to the orifice
of its syphon connection. C. Is supposed to be the chemical laboratory
in which the decomposable minerals are, and it is further supposed to be
heated by subterranean fires. In case the reader knows but little of
chemistry, I may remark that all chemical changes are greatly
accelerated by heat, and that superheated steam is a most powerful agent
in expediting the decomposition of earthy and alkaline compounds.
In the case of these subterranean laboratories, it is utterly impossible
for even the scientifically trained mind to conceive what the extent of
the heat may be. All he knows is that it is probably far greater than
suffices to resolve water into its gaseous elements--oxygen and
hydrogen--and that even before this point is reached, superheated steam
becomes a terrifically formidable explosive agent. Look at what it did
at Ban-dai-san in Japan last year. It actually split a mountain three
miles in circumference in twain, and blew one half of it right away into
a valley as if it had been the mere outside wall of a house. And such
was the force of the wind-shock it occasioned that all the trees growing
on the opposite mountain's side were knocked down by it as if they had
been mere nine-pins. [Footnote: In 'Nature,' of the 17th January 1889,
at p. 279, will be found an account of the scene of devastation when it
was visited (in the month of October 1888) by my son Vaughan; the same
who visited the geysers of the Yellowstone with me in 1884, and those of
Iceland with his sister in 1887.]
In the case of the geyser, superadded to the superheated steam's
explosive power, there will be in addition that of the gases liberated
by the decomposition of the carbonates, sulphates, and chlorides (under
the combined influence of heat and water) in chamber (C), which I call
for the nonce the chemical laboratory. Not alone will all earthy and
alkaline, but even metallic compounds, like iron pyrites, therein
contained, be rapidly decomposed on the advent of the superheated water.
And from their gaseous elements being held in a confined space, they
will acquire an enormous explosive power. Consequently, there is no
difficulty in understanding how that on obtaining entrance into chamber
(E) by means of conduit (D), they will instantly proceed to expel from
it all its water. And from the water finding no other outlet except by
vent (F), it will rush through it, and, by virtue of the propelling
force of the gases, be thrown up into the air in the form of a geyser.
Whose activity will only last so long as the supply of water in chamber
(F) remains unexhausted.
[Illustration: A. Water-tank. C. Chemical Laboratory. E. Geyser-water
Reservoir. F. Geyser. _Page 164._]
The above being a rough outline of the salient points of what I consider
to be a rational, though, it may be, incomplete, theory of the geyser
action I saw in the Yellowstone Park, I shall now add a concluding word
on the probable mode of action of the so-called 'earth-sod emetic' that
my daughter describes as having been given to the 'Stroker' geyser in
Iceland in order to make it eject its water.
The mode of action of the sods, I think, is easily enough explained on
the supposition that the geyser has a constriction at some point or
another in its vent, and that the sods plug it up sufficiently to hold
back the steam and water until they have accumulated sufficient power to
blow out the obstructing body, and escape after it with a rush into the
air. Precisely in the same way as a fermenting barrel of beer blows out
its bung, and its fluid contents gush out, when its vent-hole
accidentally becomes plugged up.
GEORGE HARLEY, M.D., F.R.S.
THE END.
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_Westminster Budget._--"A very lively book of travel."
_To-Day._--"A very bright and readable book."
_Gentlewoman._--"One must acknowledge that she has used both her eyes
and her opportunities of observing Scandinavia."
_Weekly Sun._--"Excellent book.... One of the most readable and
interesting books of travel I have ever read. Its chief charm is the
fresh breath it gives you of these beautiful Norwegian climes."
* * * * *
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
"A GIRL'S RIDE IN ICELAND."
Second Edition, with numerous Illustrations. Price 5_s._
HORACE COX.
Press Notices of the First Edition.
_Athenæum._--"A most attractive little volume, wherein Mrs. Alec Tweedie
gives a spirited account of a spirited jaunt.... Mrs. Tweedie has
persuaded her father, Dr. George Harley, F.R.S., to add a chapter on
Geysers, which forms an instructive and valuable appendix to this
charming little book."
_Daily Telegraph._--"A very pretty and clever little volume....
Altogether the impression her excellent book gives is that the Land of
the Sagas is more interesting than many a stock holiday resort, while
many tourists should be obliged to Mrs. Alec Tweedie for showing how
conveniently Iceland may be explored with the help of a little courage
and cheerfulness."
_Liverpool Daily Post._--"The author has a pleasant unaffected way of
relating her experiences which at once establishes her on the most
friendly relation with the reader. To powers of acute observation and
graphic description, she adds a sympathetic appreciation of Nature,
which enables her to convey a vivid idea of the scenery and the people,
the local colour, that is to say, of this little visited region."
_Spectator._--"This brightly written little book will amuse the
reader--and perhaps induce him to undertake a like excursion. The
authoress learnt to ride like a man, and found the fatigue of a long
journey much lightened in consequence."
_Lady's Pictorial._--"Another of those fresh, bright, unaffected little
books of travel.... Altogether a very agreeable little book, and I
congratulate Mrs. Tweedie on her pluck and perseverance."
_Graphic._--"A pleasant volume of travelling impressions, given in
unpretending and workmanlike style by the author. A great deal of useful
information and shrewd observation is brought together in compact
space."
_Pictorial World._--"A lively and interesting record of an enterprising
and plucky young lady's ride in Iceland.... We congratulate our
authoress on the pluck and endurance with which she undertook her
journey to Ultima Thule, and upon the very interesting book which is the
result."
_Illustrated London News._--"Mrs. Alec Tweedie is the authoress of this
pleasing and instructive account of a tour round this remote island in
the Arctic Circle.... She rode her pony, in a masculine attitude, to the
Geysers and back, 160 miles, in four days, which, for a lady, seems to
us to be a remarkable feat."
_Morning Post._--"This account of an autumn trip to an unhackneyed land
is much better worth reading than many more pretentious volumes.... The
authoress has an eye for what is worth seeing, a happy knack of graphic
description, and a literary style which is commendably free from
adjectival exuberance."
_Manchester Guardian._--"Mrs. A. Tweedie's account of her trip is so
bright and lively that the novelty of her experience is rendered
additionally interesting by her manner of describing it.... The
authoress interests us from first to last, and her style is altogether
free from affectation of fine writing ... her book, indeed, is both
instructive and amusing."
_St. James's Gazette._--" ... Many interesting details of the history
and social life of the Icelanders are set forth in a pleasantly chatty
style by the spirited and observant lady who rode 160 miles like a man."
_Saturday Review._--" ... people intent on new fields of travel; Mrs.
Tweedie's lively account of a voyage to Iceland, and its agreeable and
entirely successful results, ought to inspire adventurous ladies to
follow her example.... Mrs. Tweedie describes the wonders of the land
with a keen appreciation, and has not forgotten to supply many useful
hints."
_Land and Water._--"In this most thoroughly enjoyable volume, bright,
chatty, piquant, and informant, we learn the story of the travelling
experiences, and occasional droll doings, of five young tourists.... Of
all their little tours Mrs. A. Tweedie has something interesting and
diverting to narrate. She managed to see most of the noteworthy objects
and remarkable places, and her descriptions of them are admirably
faithful and picturesque."
_Truth._--"I can thoroughly recommend 'A Girl's Ride in Iceland.' It is
a bright, direct, unaffected, and charming little work."
* * * * *
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
"THE OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY."
_Times._--"'The Oberammergau Passion Play,' by Mrs. Alec Tweedie, will
be a most useful pocket companion to tourists and pilgrims who hope to
attend the representation."
_Illustrated London News._--" ... The authoress is an unaffected and
agreeable writer, as well as a lively observer."
_Home News._--"This admirable little volume is not bulky, but contains
the essence of all an average person wants to know."
_Scotsman._--"Mrs. Alec Tweedie's book is very readable. It is written
with brevity, and a brightness of style that is always interesting."
_Lady's Pictorial._--"The clever author of that capital little work 'A
Girl's Ride in Iceland,' has just published a graphic volume of the
Passion Play.... I very heartily recommend this admirable account."
_Pall Mall Gazette._--"Mrs. Tweedie writes a very pleasant account of
her visit to Oberammergau."
_Era._--"The agreeable authoress has given us, in her straightforward
simple style, a terse, unaffected, and picturesque description of her
visit to the Passion Play."
_Birmingham Daily Post._--" ... Pleasantly, brightly, and agreeably
written."
_Liverpool Daily Post._--"Mrs. Alec Tweedie has already shown us her
courage as a traveller in untrodden regions, and her skill in describing
her experiences, and her last literary production has the same charm of
unaffected style."
+--------------------Transcriber's Note-----------------------+
| |
| Minor punctuation and printing errors have been corrected. |
| |
| Punctuation, hyphenation and location spelling conventions |
| differ by text authorship. This transcription retains the |
| internally consistent conventions used in the preface, body,|
| appendix and advertisements. |
| |
| Four pages of advertisements printed at the beginning of the|
| of the book are placed at the end. |
| |
| Four footnotes appear in the text, two short footnotes are |
| embedded in place. |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+