In summer the dignitaries make frequent excursions on horse-back;
and on these occasions great care is taken that there be no lack of
provisions. Commonly each person contributes a share: some bring
wine, others cake; others, again, coffee, and so on. The ladies use
fine English side-saddles, and wear elegant riding-habits, and
pretty felt hats with green veils. These jaunts, however, are
confined to Reikjavik; for, as I have already observed, there is,
with the exception of this town, no place in Iceland containing more
than two or three stores and some half-dozen cottages.
To my great surprise, I found no less than six square piano-fortes
belonging to different families in Reikjavik, and heard waltzes by
our favourite composers, besides variations of Herz, and some pieces
of Liszt, Wilmers, and Thalberg. But such playing! I do not think
that these talented composers would have recognised their own works.
In conclusion, I must offer a few remarks relative to the travelling
in this country.
The best time to choose for this purpose is from the middle of June
to the end of August at latest. Until June the rivers are so
swollen and turbulent, by reason of the melting snows, as to render
it very dangerous to ride through them.
