ducted us to the Laxá, or Salmon River,* which falls into the bay about four miles to the east of Reykiavik, and abounds in the excellent species of fish from which it derives its name. A little farther on, we fell in with our baggage, and could not help smiling at the striking resemblance our whole company bore to a band of tinkers. However, I was soon reconciled to the mode of travelling, on discovering that it was quite oriental, and almost fancied myself in the midst of an Arabian caravan. In fact, there exist so many coincidencies between the natural appearances of this island, together with the manners and customs of its inhabitants, and what is to be met with in the East, that I must claim some indulgence from the reader, if I should occasionally allude to them, especially as they tend to throw light on many passages of Scripture. Our horses formed a pretty large cavalcade, amounting to not less than eighteen in number. The first was led by one of the servants; and the rest were tied to each other in a line, by means of a cord of hair fastened to the tail of the one that went before, and tied round the under jaw of the one that followed. Owing to this mode of leading them, it is of importance to have horses that are accustomed to it, otherwise they are sure to drag behind, and when any of those that go before happen to leap over a torrent, or begin to trot, the unbroken ones are taken by surprise, heave up their heads, and generally break the rein. In this case, if your servant be careless, and no person brings up the rear, you may proceed for a mile or two without discovering that the half of your cavalcade is amissing. The Arabs have an effectual method of guarding against this inconvenience, by fixing a small bell round the neck of the last camel in the row. Sometimes the horses are suffered to go loose, in which case they are driven before the travellers; and, should any of them stray from the path, a certain call from the guide is sufficient to bring them back. The first part of the road was by no means calculated to • This river is otherwise called the Hellarâ, or Cavernous River, from the numerous holes in the lava that forms its bed. inspire us with very favourable ideas of the country; for little else appeared around us but vast fields of stones and comminuted lava. On the left hand, at no great distance, we had the continuation of the Esian mountains, the western extremities of which face Reykiavik; and a little before us, on the same side, lay the Skâlafiall, whose three pyramidie tops were towering high above the clouds. About six in the evening we arrived at Mossfell, which stands on an eminence, and commands an extensive, though rather barren prospect. The church is built of wood, has a coat of turf around the sides, and the roof consists of the same material. It has only two small windows at the east end, and a skylight to the south; and the whole structure does not exceed thirteen feet in length, by nine in breadth. We did not find the clergyman at home; but his wife treated us with plenty of fresh cream, and we were quite delighted with the frankness and agility with which she performed the rites of hospitality. Leaving Mossfell, we entered a moor, which, from west to east, the direction in which we travelled, was certainly not less than eighteen miles. The ride was dreary in the extreme. For more than five hours we did not see a single house, or indeed any living creature, excepting a few golden plovers, which, from their melancholy warble, only added to the gloominess of the scenery. At midnight we reached the western margin of the Thingvalla Lake, and stopped at a small cottage called Skálabrecka. All, of course, was shut; but we followed Captain Von Scheel, who scaled the walls, and each of us endeavoured to find some window or hole in the roof, through which we might rouse some of the inhabitants. It was not, however, till the Captain had forced open one of the doors, and called as loud as he was able, that we effected our purpose. The salutation he made use of was, Her se Gud, " May God be in this place!" which, after he had repeated it near a dozen of times, was answered with Drottinn blessa thik, "The Lord bless thee." My imagination led me instantly to the field of Boaz, Ruth ii. 4; and I felt all the force of our Saviour's injunction: "When ye enter the house, salute it; and if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it," Matth. x. 12, 13. The common salutations of the Icelanders are most palpably oriental. On meeting a person, you hail him with Sal vertu, which exactly corresponds to the Hebrew Shalom lach; or the Arabic Salam aleik: neither of which signify "peace," in the occidental sense of the word, but "I wish thee happiness, or prosperity." It would appear, from the Edda, that the ancient Scandinavians used Heill instead of Sall, whence, through the medium of the Anglo-Saxon, our English "hail," which occurs as a salutation in many parts of the Bible. The person you salute generally replies, Drottinn blessa ydr, or Blessa ydr Drottinn, " The Lord bless you." When you meet the head of a family, you wish prosperity to him, and all that are in his house, (see 1 Sam. xxv. 6.); and, on leaving them, you say, Se i Guds Fridi, "May you remain in the peace of God;" which is returned with, Guds Fridi veri med ydr, "The peace of God be with you.” Both at meeting and parting, an affectionate kiss on the mouth, without distinction of rank, age, or sex, is the only mode of salutation known in Iceland, except sometimes in the immediate vicinity of the factories, where the common Icelander salutes a foreigner whom he regards as his superior, by placing his right hand on his mouth or left breast, and then making a deep bow. When you visit a family in Iceland, you must salute them according to their age and rank, beginning with the highest, and descending, according to your best judgment, to the lowest, not even excepting the servants: but, on taking leave, this order is completely reversed; the salutation is first tendered to the servants, then to the children, and, last of all, to the mistress and master of the family. Both expressions are still used in Swedish poetry, as in the beautiful hymn of Hammarsköld, on the Shepherds at Bethlehem : "Hell, säll dig Messias, Du syndares tröst! Ditt heliga namn pa sin tunga."+ + Poetiska Studier. Stockholm, 1813. The remoteness of the sleeping apartment, which lay at the inner end of a long narrow passage, could not but render it difficult for the people to hear us; however, they soon began to make their appearance; and, instead of looking sulky, or grumbling at us for having disturbed them in their soundest repose, they manifested the utmost willingness to serve us; and assisted us in unloading the horses, and loosing our tents, which we pitched close to the lake. The Icelandic tents pretty much resemble those of the Bedoween Arabs, and are erected in the following manner : Two poles, of from five to six feet in length, are stuck fast in the ground, at the distance of seven or eight feet, and joined together at the top by a third pole, over which the curtain, consisting of white wadmel, or coarse woollen cloth, is spread, and braced tight by means of cords fastened to the eaves, and tied at the other end to hooked wooden pins, which are driven into the ground at different distances round the tent. The flaps are provided with small holes around the border, and are fastened close to the ground in the same manner, except at the one end, where a small piece is left loose to serve the purpose of a door. In these tents the natives live several weeks on the mountains every summer, while they are collecting the lichen Islandicus, and are extremely fond of this kind of Nomadic life. Our friend, Captain von Scheel, lay on an excellent bed, supported by two long wooden poles, fixed at each end to the top of his travelling chests, about a foot and a half above the ground; and this commodious method I also adopted on my arrival in the north: but at present. I was obliged to spread my couch on the ground, from which I was separated only by the flat pieces of turf that had served as packsaddles; and my ridding-saddle, placed on its back, formed an admirable pillow. To prevent the horses from running away, their fore-feet were tied together with a rope of hair, in the one end of which was an eye, and the other was wound round the ancle-bone of a sheep, and thus fixed in the noose. As the morning was rather cold, we got a supply of warm milk, which proved very refreshing; and a little before two o'clock, I sat down on one of the wooden boxes, at the door of my tent, and read the 103d Psalm, in my small pocketBible-so clear are the summer nights in this northern latitude. Lifting up my heart to my Heavenly Father, I humbly presented my tribute of praise for the mercies of the past day, and retired to rest in the possession of a high degree of comfort and peace. Having reposed about six hours, I drew aside the curtain of my tent door, when the Thingvalla-vatn presented itself full before me, near the middle of which the two black volcanic islands of Sandey and Nesey rose into view. On the opposite side, a rugged range of mountains, above which the sun had just risen, stretched along to the right; and the prospect was bounded on the south by a number of mountains, diversified in size and form, but all of which appeared to owe their birth to the convulsive throes of the earth, occasioned at some remote period by the violence of subterraneous fire. The inhabitants of the cottage seemed very poor; and though they were in possession of a few books, had no part of the Scriptures. I therefore presented the peasant with a Bible, which he received with every demonstration of gratitude and joy. After bathing in the lake, the bottom of which consisted of the finest particles of lava, and partaking of a dish of warm coffee, which I contrived to boil on the ground, we set off for Thingvalla, across a plain entirely covered with lava; but, as it was smoother and less broken, we rode over it without much difficulty. The track we followed led us all at once to the brink of the frightful chasm, called Almannagiâ, where the solid masses of burnt rock have been disrupted, so as to form a fissure, or gap, not less than an hundred and eighty feet deep; in many places nearly of the same width; and about three miles in length. At first sight, The etymology of this epithet I have not been able to learn with any certainty. Either it denotes the chasm capable of containing the whole population of Iceland, or that through which all must pass who travel this way; or, what is more likely than either, the fissure in which the generality of the people pitched their tents when they attended the Althing, or General Assembly, held in the neighbourhood. |