There Was Not A Single Spot To Be Seen On Which We Could
Have Stood Without Holding Fast At The Same Time With Our Hands.
We
were sometimes obliged to seat ourselves on a stone, and so to slide
down; at others, to take hands and pull one another to the top of
high blocks of stone.
We came to several immense basins, or craters, which opened above
our heads, but were inaccessible, the sides being too steep for us
to climb. The light which entered through these openings was
scarcely enough to illumine the principal path, much less the
numerous by-paths.
At Kalmannstunga I had endeavoured to procure torches, but was
obliged to consider myself fortunate in getting a few tapers. It is
necessary to provide oneself with torches at Reikjavik.
The parts of the cavern beneath the open craters were still covered
with a considerable quantity of snow, by which our progress was
rendered very dangerous. We frequently sunk in, and at other times
caught our feet between the stones, so that we could scarcely
maintain our balance. In the by-paths situated near these openings
an icy rind had formed itself, which was now covered with water.
Farther on, the ice had melted; but it was generally very dirty, as
a stratum of sand mixed with water lay there in place of the stones.
The chief path alone was covered with blocks of lava; in the smaller
paths I found only strata of sand and small pieces of lava.
The magical illumination produced by the sun's rays shining through
one of these craters into the cavern produced a splendid effect.
The sun shone perpendicularly through the opening, spread a dazzling
radiance over the snow, and diffused a pale delicate light around
us. The effect of this point of dazzling light was the more
remarkable from its contrasting strongly with the two dark chasms,
from the first of which we had emerged to continue our journey
through the obscurity of the second.
This subterranean labyrinth is said to extend in different
directions for many miles. We explored a portion of the chief path
and several by-paths, and after a march of two hours returned
heartily tired to the upper world. We then rested a quarter of an
hour, and afterwards returned at a good round pace to Kalmannstunga.
Unfortunately I do not possess sufficient geognostic knowledge to be
able to set this cavern down as an extinct volcano. But in
travelling in a country where every hill and mountain, every thing
around, in fact, consists of lava, even the uninitiated in science
seeks to discover the openings whence these immense masses have
poured. The stranger curiously regards the top of each mountain,
thinking every where to behold a crater, but both hill and dale
appear smooth and closed. With what joy then does he hail the
thought of having discovered, in this cavern, something to throw
light upon the sources of these things! I, at least, fancied myself
walking on the hearth of an extinct volcano; for all I saw, from the
masses of stone piled beneath my feet and the immense basin above my
head, were both of lava. If I am right in my conjecture, I do not
know; I only speak according to my notions and my views.
I was obliged to pass this night in a cottage. Kalmannstunga
contains three such cottages, but no chapel. Luckily I found one of
these houses somewhat larger and more cleanly than its neighbours;
it could almost come under the denomination of a farm. The
occupants, too, had been employed during my ride to the cavern in
cleansing the best chamber, and preparing it, as far as possible,
for my reception. The room in question was eleven feet long by
seven broad; the window was so small and so covered with dirt that,
although the sun was shining in its full glory, I could scarcely see
to write. The walls, and even the floor, were boarded - a great
piece of luxury in a country where wood is so scarce. The furniture
consisted of a broad bedstead, two chests of drawers, and a small
table. Chairs and benches are a kind of terra incognita in the
dwellings of the Icelandic peasantry; besides, I do not know where
such articles could be stowed in a room of such dimensions as that
which I occupied.
My hostess, the widow of a wealthy peasant, introduced to me her
four children, who were very handsome, and very neatly dressed. I
begged the good mother to tell me the names of the young ones, so
that I might at least know a few Icelandic names. She appeared much
flattered at my request, and gave me the names as follows:
Sigrudur, Gudrun, Ingebor, and Lars.
I should have felt tolerably comfortable in my present quarters,
accustomed as I am to bear privations of all kinds with
indifference, if they would but have left me in peace. But the
reader may fancy my horror when the whole population, not only of
the cottage itself, but also of the neighbouring dwellings, made
their appearance, and, planting themselves partly in my chamber and
partly at the door, held me in a far closer state of siege than even
at Krisuvik. I was, it appeared, quite a novel phenomenon in the
eyes of these good people, and so they came one and all and stared
at me; the women and children were, in particular, most unpleasantly
familiar; they felt my dress, and the little ones laid their dirty
little countenances in my lap. Added to this, the confined
atmosphere from the number of persons present, their lamentable want
of cleanliness, and their filthy habit of spitting, &c., all
combined to form a most dreadful whole. During these visits I did
more penance than by the longest fasts; and fasting, too, was an
exercise I seldom escaped, as I could touch few Icelandic dishes.
The cookery of the Icelandic peasants is wholly confined to the
preparation of dried fish, with which they eat fermented milk that
has often been kept for months; on very rare occasions they have a
preparation of barley-meal, which is eaten with flat bread baked
from Icelandic moss ground fine.
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