sighted the west coast of Scotland, left the Mull of Cantire in the wake, doubled the Calf of Man, and stood right into Liverpool harbour. The custom-house officers thought her a queer-looking craft, and came alongside in a boat, climbed up the side, saw nobody, and walked to the cabin-stair, when -imagine their dismay !-a procession of Polar bears marched up the ladder with the utmost gravity and composure, headed by an august maternal bear bowed down with years, and in the rear half a dozen cubs, which had been born on the voyage. Fact, Padre!"

We halted to change saddles at a small lake on which were floating several wild-fowl, enjoying the brilliant sunshine and rocking at their ease on the crisp wavelets which flowed before the fresh northerly breeze. They seemed to be perfectly indifferent to our presence, and made no attempt to escape, with the exception of a common scoter (Oidemia nigra), which rowed off at a great rate, and appeared only at ease when in the shade on the farther side of the tarn.

The other birds consisted chiefly of teal and pintails (Anas crecca and Anas acuta). Besides these, a pair of swans floated in a dreamy majesty on the blue water. They were Hooper swans (Cygnus ferus); another species, Bewick's swan (Cygnus Bewickii), breeds in Iceland, but is not common; so that Brehm was unfortunate in naming it Cygnus Islandicus. M. Preyer never saw the bird, and Mr. Fowler doubts its being a native of the island, as the Icelanders whom he questioned were very positive that only one variety frequents their lakes. On the other hand, my friend J. W. R., who has contributed some notes for sportsmen at the end of this volume, shot a specimen, and has the head in his possession at present. Neither M. Preyer nor Mr. Fowler found the little grebe (Podiceps minor) in the island, yet one was shot by J. W. R., who gave the skin to Mr. Briggs. I have a suspicion-I cannot say that it is more than a suspicion— that I saw a red-necked grebe (Podiceps rubricollis) on Myvatn, but I could not get near enough to the bird to thoroughly convince myself.

The Icelanders are tolerably unanimous in their assertion that only one species has been seen in the island, but, as in the case of the swans, their testimony is open to question. The terns again cannot surely be represented by one species alone, and that the Sterna arctica. I am convinced that a naturalist will find other varieties if he looks for them among the islets and along the coast. As I have already mentioned, we shot what I believed at the time to be the common tern (Sterna hirundo), on the Thingvalla heithi, above the Allmen's rift. Mr. Martin, who brought them down with his gun, has written to me in answer to my queries, and given his unhesitating opinion in accordance with mine.

As the day began to decline, we descended into the vale of the Northrá, and passed the little farm of Fornihvammr. In one place the track lay over a narrow ridge of rock, not two feet wide, descending to the river on one side, and to a brawling torrent on the other, in abrupt precipices. The pack-horses refused to advance over it, and we found that they were frightened, and could not be driven by blows. Consequently, I rode past them, and taking one by the bridle, walked my little piebald across, hoping that the rest would follow lead. This they did, till they reached the middle, and then they halted, and stood trembling on the ridge. If their feet had slipped, and they had fallen over on the river side, they would have been killed; if they had slipped over on the torrent side, they would have certainly broken their legs; so that it was a moment of anxiety to us all.

Grímr was behind with Gúthmundr, and neither of them could pass to the front, so that I was left to do what I could. I pulled at the bridle of the foremost pony, but he would not move a step, neither could he retreat, as there was not room on the ledge for him to turn. I drew off my comforter, and bound it round his eyes, then caressingly urged him to advance. This he did, still trembling violently, and pawing the ground in front, before he planted each foot. trouble, I got him completely across, and the in his steps.

So, with much

others followed

In the meantime, Mr. Briggs had made a considerable détour, having gone back some way till he found a spot where the hill admitted of being ascended, and the torrent crossed without difficulty.

Before us rose the cone of Baula, a tall grey mass of trachyte about 3,000-3,500 feet high, and so precipitous that snow can never rest on its head or flanks. Near its base is little Baula, a singular crater, containing in the centre of its bowl a sugar-loaf of red cinder, considerably higher than the walls of the crater. The old myth, that at the top of Baula there is an opening to the land of the elves, has been exploded, for it was ascended, two years ago, by some German naturalists.

The mountain is composed of a pyramid of pale grey trachytic columns, three or nine sided, and arranged with the most beautiful regularity. From the top of Baula can be counted thirty-seven lakes, and innumerable chains of snowy mountains.

We stopped the night at Hvammr, a little parsonage planted under a precipice of dark rock. The old priest was an enthusiast on the subject of Icelandic history, and was able to give me some curious information corroborating the statements in some of the Sagas.

He had seen the stones in the Hitará, which mark the spot to which Grettir and Björn had swum, and had sounded the stone in the Hvitá to which Thangbrand the Christian missionary had attached his ship. The Saga speaks of it as giving out a musical note when struck. It does so still, and is called the Glöckustein. It is egg-shaped, of a yellowish tinge, and about six feet high.

The old man showed me a parchment MS. history of his parish, written in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, also a MS. volume of Sagas, containing those of Asmund víking, Jasone Bjarta, Thorstein forvitna, Florus oll sonum hans, Dynuse Drambláti, Eirek Artussyni, and Halfdane Eysteinssyni. The church contains little of real interest except a font basin of brass stamped with the Annunciation, and a fine

brass chandelier. On the altar are two triple candlesticks. In the churchyard are stone staves over the tombs, and one forms the top of a stable door adjoining the house. This bears an inscription which I could not decipher, as the stone was much overgrown with the turf, of which the walls are composed.

331

CHAPTER XIX.

THE VALE OF SMOKE.

Runaway Horses-Grjótháls-Glorious View-I succeed in mastering the Horses-Cruelty to Birds-The Future of Animals - Ptarmigan Whimbrel and Plover-A Heithi-Icelandic Way of Sleeping-NamesTunguhver-Boiling Jets in a River-Reykholt-Snorro's Bath-The Church-Snorro Sturlason.

On the following morning, Mr. Briggs and I were lying in bed, laughing and talking, when Grímr came in, with the news that two of my horses had run away.

"Then go after them!" said I.

"Ah!" said he, "of what use is that? You would lose guide as well as horses then. When once the horses make up their minds to run, they will sometimes go for a week without stopping. There was once a man from the Skagafjord came to our house at Reykjavík, and left his horse standing outside our door, whilst he spoke to my father within. The pony started off, and next day was seen passing Thingvellir; then it ran through Kaldidalr, and twelve men who were making up the way marks on the side of Ok, tried ineffectually to stop it. The horse ran on till it reached its home, and that was six days after it had left Reykjavík." Grímr had always got a dismal story on his lips, when one was at all inclined to be cheerful, so I took this anecdote at what it was worth, and waited patiently for two hours, till the horses were recovered.