The first thing they said to each
other was always, "Krar hefur hun sovid" (Where can she have
slept?). The good people could not conceive how it was possible to
spend a night ALONE in a church surrounded by a churchyard; they
perhaps considered me an evil spirit or a witch, and would too
gladly have ascertained how such a creature slept. When I saw their
disappointed faces, I had to turn away not to laugh at them.
June 29th.
Early the next morning I continued my journey. Not far from
Skalholt we came to the river Thiorsa, which is deep and rapid. We
crossed in a boat; but the horses had to swim after us. It is often
very troublesome to make the horses enter these streams; they see at
once that they will have to swim. The guide and boatmen cannot
leave the shore till the horses have been forced into the stream;
and even then they have to throw stones, to threaten them with the
whip, and to frighten them by shouts and cries, to prevent them from
returning.
When we had made nearly twelve miles on marshy roads, we came to the
beautiful waterfall of the Huitha. This fall is not so remarkable
for its height, which is scarcely more than fifteen to twenty feet,
as for its breadth, and for its quantity of water. Some beautiful
rocks are so placed at the ledge of the fall, that they divide it
into three parts; but it unites again immediately beneath them. The
bed of the river, as well as its shores, is of lava.
The colour of the water is also a remarkable feature in this river;
it inclines so much to milky white, that, when the sun shines on it,
it requires no very strong imaginative power to take the whole for
milk.
Nearly a mile above the fall we had to cross the Huitha, one of the
largest rivers in Iceland. Thence the road lies through meadows,
which are less marshy than the former ones, till it comes to a broad
stream of lava, which announces the vicinity of the fearful volcano
of Hecla.
I had hitherto not passed over such an expanse of country in Iceland
as that from the Geyser to this place without coming upon streams of
lava. And this lava-stream seemed to have felt some pity for the
beautiful meadows, for it frequently separated into two branches,
and thus enclosed the verdant plain. But it could not withstand the
violence of the succeeding masses; it had been carried on, and had
spread death and destruction everywhere. The road to it, through
plains covered with dark sand, and over steep hills intervening, was
very fatiguing and laborious.
We proceeded to the little village of Struvellir, where we stopped
to give our horses a few hours' rest. Here we found a large
assembly of men and animals. {42} It happened to be Sunday, and a
warm sunny day, and so a very full service was held in the pretty
little church. When it was over, I witnessed an amusing rural
scene. The people poured out of the church, - I counted ninety-six,
which is an extraordinarily numerous assemblage for Iceland, - formed
into little groups, chatting and joking, not forgetting, however, to
moisten their throats with brandy, of which they had taken care to
bring an ample supply. Then they bridled their horses and prepared
for departure; now the kisses poured in from all sides, and there
was no end of leave-taking, for the poor people do not know whether
they shall ever meet again, and when.
In all Iceland welcome and farewell is expressed by a loud kiss, - a
practice not very delightful for a non-Icelander, when one considers
their ugly, dirty faces, the snuffy noses of the old people, and the
filthy little children. But the Icelanders do not mind this. They
all kissed the priest, and the priest kissed them; and then they
kissed each other, till the kissing seemed to have no end. Rank is
not considered in this ceremony; and I was not a little surprised to
see how my guide, a common farm-labourer, kissed the six daughters
of a judge, or the wife and children of a priest, or a judge and the
priest themselves, and how they returned the compliment without
reserve. Every country has its peculiar customs!
The religious ceremonies generally begin about noon, and last two or
three hours. There being no public inn in which to assemble, and no
stable in which the horses can be fastened, all flock to the open
space in front of the church, which thus becomes a very animated
spot. All have to remain in the open air.
When the service was over, I visited the priest, Herr Horfuson; he
was kind enough to conduct me to the Salsun, nine miles distant,
principally to engage a guide to Hecla for me.
I was doubly rejoiced to have this good man at my side, as we had to
cross a dangerous stream, which was very rapid, and so deep that the
water rose to the horses' breasts. Although we raised our feet as
high as possible, we were yet thoroughly wet. This wading across
rivers is one of the most unpleasant modes of travelling. The horse
swims more than it walks, and this creates a most disagreeable
sensation; one does not know whither to direct one's eyes; to look
into the stream would excite giddiness, and the sight of the shore
is not much better, for that seems to move and to recede, because
the horse, by the current, is forced a little way down the river.
To my great comfort the priest rode by my side to hold me, in case I
should not be able to keep my seat.
