vast number of loose pieces of rock, which had fallen from the precipices above. However, we had now no time to examine the place more; for it was necessary to pay our respects to the priest of Thingevalle, who lived scarcely a mile from the place. We therefore left our luggage and tents in charge of the guides, and, going northward in the chasm, came to a little opening on the east side, through which we had to pass. Having reached this, we looked down into an immense plain, which was every where intersected by rents in the earth, as far as the eye could reach, crossing each other in various directions, though most of them were torn from north to south: three in particular seemed to extend, in uninterrupted lines, the whole width of the plain, and were terminated on one side by the lake Thingevalle. Immediately below us was the river Oxeraa, and, just on the other side, in the midst of this most extraordinary country, are situated the church and parsonage of Thingevalle *. The verdure upon these buildings, and the unusual

* This place takes its name from the word Althing, or the seat of the court of justice, which was once there, but was before that time, according to Povelsen and

fertility of the small patch of ground which immediately surrounded them, together with the numerous herds of cattle, made a pleasing contrast with the rest of the country, which was, as the French editors of Povelsen and Olafsen term it, "horriblement bouleverseé par le feu souterrain." We went out at the above-mentioned opening, and, crossing the Oxeraa, arrived at the parsonage by a road fenced in on each side by a low

Olafsen, at Kialarnoes, and is now at Reikevig. The Oxeraa divided the Althing into two parts: the consistory, which was upon the eastern bank, was held every year in the church of Thingevalle, but only for the bishoprick of Skalholt; for the northern bishoprick, the consistory was held at Kugemire, in the canton of Skagafiordur. Upon the western bank of the river was situated the building, made use of for the session of the inferior court, called Lavretten. The Lavretten was held in the open air till 1690, when a building was constructed similar to the rest, belonging to the Althing, that is to say, with walls of lava, and a roof covered with rafters and laths, ornamented on the outside with wadnial. Thorleosholm, a little island in the river Oxeraa, was the place of punishment for the criminals. See Povelsen and Olafsen, § 905.-Tingwall is, also, the name of a place in the Shetland Islands, where formerly the chief court of justice was held.-See Mr. Neill's interesting Account of the Orkney and Shetland Isles, and Edmonstone's Zetland Islands.

stone wall. A fine pair of rein-deer's horns, fastened against the side of a building here, particularly caught my attention. These animals were first introduced into this country (according to Von Troil) in the year 1770, from Norway, by order of Governor Thodal. Of thirteen then sent ten died on the passage. The three remaining ones have done extremely well, and bred so fast, that at this time Count Tramp reckons that there are about five thousand head in the island. They are, however, quite useless to the natives; for no attempts have been made to domesticate them, nor can the inhabitants afford to buy powder and ball to enable them to kill them for provision. They herd together in the wildest and least frequented parts of the mountains, where they are seldom seen, and are not shot without extreme difficulty. It seems truly extraordinary that, in a country so wretchedly poor as Iceland, and so i calculated for the subsistence of the greater number of useful quadrupeds, the rein-deer, which is peculiarly adapted to their Lichen-covered plains, should be allowed to wander at large, not only unserviceable to the natives, but devouring a plant

which serves themselves in part for nourishment, and is also of importance as an article of export. This too, when the Laplanders, seated nearly in a similar country and under the same latitude, find in these animals the blessing of their lives. Could they but be persuaded to see and to follow their true interest in this respect, to them might be applied what has been so beautifully said of their neighbors, *"Hi Lichene obsiti campi, quos terram damnatam diceret peregrinus, hi sunt Islandorum agri, hæc prata eorum felicissima, adeo ut felicem se prædicet possessor provinciæ talis sterilissimæ atque Lichene obsitæ. Pecora enim bene perferunt clima illud; habent sufficiens alimentum ; reddunt pastori et vestimenta et alimenta." We found the priest, who was the object of our visit, smoking his pipe in the front of his house, surrounded by his wife and numerous domestics, who had all come out to gaze at us.

* Fl. Lapp. p. 347.

†This is a luxury in which only the richer Icelanders can afford to indulge. A pipe in the mouth of an Icelander is, therefore, not a common sight, and is mostly confined to Reikevig, where they learn the custom from the Danes, who are always smoking.