With much difficulty I trotted
after the others, for my horse would not be induced to break into a
gallop.
At length, after a ride of an hour and a half, we reached a valley.
In the midst of a tolerably green meadow I descried what was, for
Iceland, a farm of considerable dimensions, and not far from this
farm was a very small lake. I did not dare to ask if this was the
GREAT lake Vatne, or if this was the delicious prospect I had been
promised, for my question would have been taken for irony. I could
not refrain from wonder when Herr von H- began praising the
landscape as exquisite, and farther declaring the effect of the lake
to be bewitching. I was obliged, for politeness' sake, to
acquiesce, and leave them in the supposition that I had never seen a
larger lake nor a finer prospect.
We now made a halt, and the whole party encamped in the meadow.
While the preparations for a social meal were going on, I proceeded
to satisfy my curiosity.
The peasant's house first attracted my attention. I found it to
consist of one large chamber, and two of smaller size, besides a
storeroom and extensive stables, from which I judged that the
proprietor was rich in cattle. I afterwards learnt that he owned
fifty sheep, eight cows, and five horses, and was looked upon as one
of the richest farmers in the neighbourhood. The kitchen was
situated at the extreme end of the building, and was furnished with
a chimney that seemed intended only as a protection against rain and
snow, for the smoke dispersed itself throughout the whole kitchen,
drying the fish which hung from the ceiling, and slowly making its
exit through an air-hole.
The large apartment boasted a wooden bookshelf, containing about
forty volumes. Some of these I turned over, and in spite of my
limited knowledge of the Danish language, could make out enough to
discover that they were chiefly on religious subjects. But the
farmer seemed also to love poetry; among the works of this class in
his library, I noticed Kleist, Muller, and even Homer's Odyssey. I
could make nothing of the Icelandic books; but on inquiring their
contents, I was told that they all treated of religious matters.
After inspecting these, I walked out into the meadow to search for
flowers and herbs. Flowers I found but few, as it was not the right
time of the year for them; my search for herbs was more successful,
and I even found some wild clover. I saw neither beetles nor
butterflies; but, to my no small surprise, heard the humming of two
wild bees, one of which I was fortunate enough to catch, and took
home to preserve in spirits of wine.
