INSCRIBED.
CONTENTS.
| [PREFACE], | XIII | |
| [CHAPTER I.] | ||
| The Voyage—Stop a day at Elsinore—Elsinore Castle, Hamlet, and Shakspeare—“Independence Day” at Sea—Fourth of July Oration—Whales and Sharks—Passengers, Live Stock, Books, and Amusements—The Meal Sack—Sea-Birds—The Gannet, or Solan Goose—Land at Reykjavik, | Page 17–32 | |
| [CHAPTER II.] | ||
| Iceland, its Discovery and Settlement—Discovery and Settlement of Greenland and North America by the Icelanders—Ericsson—Trading and Skirmishing between the Icelanders and the North American Indians—Voyage of Columbus to Iceland—Icelandic Congress, or Althing—Thingvalla, the Capital—Administration of the Laws, | 33–47 | |
| [CHAPTER III.] | ||
| Geographical Features of Iceland—Productions and Minerals—Character and Literary Taste of the People—Wild and Domestic Animals—Exports and Imports—Chief Towns—Habits of the Icelanders of Olden Time—Beards, | 48–60 | |
| [CHAPTER IV.] | ||
| Town of Reykjavik—Houses, Gardens, and Productions—A Ride in the Country—Visit Hafnarfiorth—Preparations for a Journey in the Interior—A Party of Travelers—Face of the Country—Salmon-Fishing—A Tumble—Breakfast on the Hill-side—Stop at a Hotel!—Splendid Scenery—Extraordinary Purity of the Atmosphere—Almannagjá, or Chasm in the Rock—Arrive at Thingvalla—Trout-Fishing on a large scale—Encamp for the Night, | 61–75 | |
| [CHAPTER V.] | ||
| Dining Out—Many Tongues, but no Confusion—A Merry Dinner-Party—Angling—Thingvalla, and place of Meeting of the Ancient Althing—Daring Act of a Criminal—“If you Hang a Rogue, you must Catch him First”—Old Customs—Introduction of Christianity, and Fall of Idolatry—A Lacteal Disquisition—Company Separate, | 76–84 | |
| [CHAPTER VI.] | ||
| Etymology of Icelandic Words—Similarity of the Icelandic and English—The Iceland Numerals—Counting—Geographical Terms, | 85–88 | |
| [CHAPTER VII.] | ||
| Journeying to the Eastward—A Forest—Blacksmithing—Game-Birds—The Ptarmigan—Iceland Ladies Riding Horseback—Thingvalla Lake—Rough Traveling—First View of Mount Hekla—Broad Valleys and Large Rivers—A Cave, and Such a Cave!—Singular Cataract—Frail Bridge—Arrive at the Geysers, | 89–99 | |
| [CHAPTER VIII.] | ||
| The Great Geyser—Its Size and Appearance—Numerous Hot Springs in the Vicinity—Springs of Boiling Mud—Beautiful Colored Clays—A Seething Cauldron—The Little Geyser—Wait for an Eruption of the Great Geyser—Singular Warnings, or Signal Guns—An Eruption—The Strokr, another Geyser—Forced Eruption of the Strokr—Surtshellir, or the Devil’s Cave—A Warm Bath—How to Cook a Dinner without Fire—Beautiful Birds—Termination of the “Show,” | 100–113 | |
| [CHAPTER IX.] | ||
| Journey towards Mount Hekla—Iceland Rivers—Haying—An Iceland Meadow—How the Horses Live—Beautiful Birds—The Pochard—Playing Mazeppa—Swimming a River Horseback—A Hospitable Icelander—Herre Johann Briem—Slanders and Falsehoods of Madame Pfeiffer, | 114–123 | |
| [CHAPTER X.] | ||
| Productions of Iceland—White Clover—A Singular Ferry—Horses Swimming—Sleeping Under the Bed—Sleeping in a Church—An Iceland Salute—Iceland Horses—An Icelander with a Brick in his Hat—Boyish Sports—Rolling Stones down Hill—Guess I rolled a Big One down—Guess it knocked the Stone Wall over—“Guess” a certain Yankee had to pay for it, too, | 124–131 | |
| [CHAPTER XI.] | ||
| Ascent of Mount Hekla—Preparations and “Victualing” for the Trip—Mountain Gorges—Hard Climbing for Ponies—Obliged to Dismount, and leave our Horses—Streams of Lava—Smoke and Fire—Variegated Appearance and Color of the Lava—Almost an Accident—Up, up the Mountain—Hard Climbing—A Lonely Flower on Mount Hekla—Beautiful Weather—Snow—Craters of the Late Eruption—Fire and Brimstone—Awful Scene, and Dangerous Traveling—Arrive on the Summit—An Elevated Dinner—Boundless View from the Top—Descent into the Large Crater—Ancient Snow-Banks—Descent of the Mountain, | 132–146 | |
| [CHAPTER XII.] | ||
| Volcanoes in Iceland—A Submarine Eruption—Awful Eruption of Skaptar Jokull in 1783—Terrible Destruction of Life and Property—Details of the Eruption—A River of Fire—“Fiske Vatn”—A Mountain Giant Drinking up a Lake—Eruptions of Mount Hekla since the year 1000, | 147–155 | |
| [CHAPTER XIII.] | ||
| Pleasing Customs—“Son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people”—Roses in Iceland—Fields of Beautiful Heath—Skarth—Crossing the Ferry—A Lofty Cataract—The Westmann Islands—People on Volcanic Rocks, 3,000 feet above the Sea—One Half of the World never knows how the other Half lives—Climbing Crags for Sea-Fowl—Islands Plundered by Pirates, | 156–168 | |
| [CHAPTER XIV.] | ||
| Game-Birds of Iceland—Wild Reindeer—Ravens—Skalholt—A Merry Sysselman—Good Cheer in Prospect, “for he’s a jolly good fellow!”—Finally concluded not to stay all night with him—Took “a Horn,” and left, | 169–176 | |
| [CHAPTER XV.] | ||
| Stay at Hraungerthi—Rev. Mr. Thorarensen and Family—Christianity, Comfort, and Refinement—Church-yard and Homes of the Dead—Gardening and Farming in Iceland—Iceland Hospitality, | 177–184 | |
| [CHAPTER XVI.] | ||
| Leave Hraungerthi—A Pretty Girl, and a Man not so Pretty—Crossing a Ferry—The Reykir Springs—Singular Group of Boiling Fountains and Geysers—Nero, | 185–192 | |
| [CHAPTER XVII.] | ||
| An Icelander in a Warm Bath—A Churl—Not born to be drowned—Vogsósar—Rev. Mr. Jonson—Hospitality again—Drift-wood—Plum-pudding Stone—Arrive at Krisuvik, | 193–199 | |
| [CHAPTER XVIII.] | ||
| Krisuvik—The Sulphur Mountains—Fire and Brimstone—Sulphur Mines—Jet of Steam from a Hole in a Rock—A Mud Geyser—“Stones of Sulphur,” | 200–207 | |
| [CHAPTER XIX.] | ||
| Leave the Sulphur Mountains—Fun with Mr. Philmore—Stealing another Man’s Thunder—Up and down Hills—A Horrible Road—Arrive at Hafnarfiorth—Visit at Mr. Johnson’s—House full of Pretty Girls—A Lady in a “fix”—A Bachelor in the same—Girls Riding Horseback—The Town and Harbor of Hafnarfiorth—Journey to Reykjavik, and Cordial Reception, | 208–217 | |
| [CHAPTER XX.] | ||
| Ornithology of Iceland—Eider-Ducks Half Domesticated, yet Wild—A Bird that won’t be Caught—Cormorants—The Gannet, or Solan Goose, | 218–225 | |
| [CHAPTER XXI.] | ||
| Snow-Birds—Gulls—The Iceland Gull—Skua Gull—The Great White Owl—The Jer-Falcon, or Iceland Falcon—His Unequaled Velocity on the Wing—Falcon of Henry IV. carrying the Mail from Paris to Malta—Trained Falcons, | 226–232 | |
| [CHAPTER XXII.] | ||
| The Faroe Isles—Little known to Modern Travelers—Majestic Scenery—Thorshaven—The “Witch’s Finger”—Men Climbing Crags—A Terrible Chasm; a Home for Sea-Fowl—Anecdote of Graba—Norwegian Collectors, and Faroese Maidens, | 233–241 | |
| [CHAPTER XXIII.] | ||
| Northern Mythology—The Chaotic World, and Scandinavian idea of Creation—Surtur and Surturbrand—Ymir—The Myth of the Ash—Mimir’s Well—Odin, Thor, and Baldur—Forseti, the God of Justice—Bragi, the God of Poetry—Frey—Freyja, Heimdal and Hödur—The Goddesses, the Valkyrjor, and the Norns, | 242–253 | |
| [CHAPTER XXIV.] | ||
| Mythology of the Northmen, Concluded—Day and Night—The Earth, Sun, and Moon—Loki, the Wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent, and Tyr—Hela, or Death—Valhalla—Death of Baldur—Adventures of Thor with the Giants of Jötunheim—Ragnarök, | 254–267 | |
| [CHAPTER XXV.] | ||
| Early Literature of the Icelanders—Eddas and Sagas—Manners and Customs of the Period—Extracts from the Poetic Edda, | 268–280 | |
| [CHAPTER XXVI.] | ||
| Modern Icelandic Literature—Icelandic Poetry—Jon Thorlakson’s Translations of Milton and Pope—Burns’ Bruce’s Address—Icelandic Hymn—Franklin’s Story of a Whistle—Quotations from an Iceland Newspaper, | 281–292 | |
| [CHAPTER XXVII.] | ||
| Matters Personal, Literary, and General—Manners and Customs of the People—Iceland Politics—Books and Newspapers—Congressional Reports—Sir Henry Holland—Danish Laws Prohibiting Trade with Iceland—Productions—Prospects of Trade being Opened to the World—Letter from President Johnson on the Subject—Trade Opened to the World, | 293–302 | |
| [CHAPTER XXVIII.] | ||
| Agricultural Resources of Iceland—Improvements needed—Diseases and Medical Practice—Public Worship in Reykjavik—Ancient Costume—Further Extracts from President Johnson’s Letters—Social Evenings—Young Ladies of Iceland; their Education and Accomplishments—Mr. Brinjulfsson—Take Leave of Friends—Embarkation, | 303–312 | |
| [CHAPTER XXIX.] | ||
| Voyage to Copenhagen—Snæfell Jokull from the Sea—Basaltic Cliffs of Stapi—The “Needles”—Portland—Mountains on the South Coast of Iceland—Hospitality of the Icelanders to French Sailors Shipwrecked—Liberality of Louis Philippe—Loss of the Lilloise—Scandinavian Commission—Geimar’s Great Work—Mr. Sivertsen—Young Ladies on Ship-board—Music—Dancing on a Rocking Deck—Captain of the Sölöven—Contrary Winds—Arrive at Copenhagen, | 313–320 | |
PREFACE.
A PREFACE to a book, is a sort of pedestal where the author gets up to make a speech; frequently an apologizing ground, where he “drops in—hopes he don’t intrude;” a little strip of green carpet near the foot-lights, where he bows to the audience, and with a trembling voice asks them to look with lenient eyes on his darling bantling that is just coming before the world. Very likely he tells of the numerous difficulties and disadvantages under which he has labored; perhaps apologizes for his style, under the plea of writing against time, and that he has been greatly hurried. Readers and critics are usually indulgent towards the minor faults of an author, provided he entertains or instructs them; but they pay little attention to special pleadings. The writer who deliberately perpetrates a stupid or silly book, deserves the fate of dunces—obloquy and contempt. If he adds to this the double crime of setting up a justification, and asks that his work be not subject to the usual canons of criticism, then the reviewers should level their heaviest guns, pepper him pungently, and prove him but a buzzard, while he claimed the honors of a game-cock. We however, have a right to expect and demand more from a veteran author, than from a young and inexperienced one.
The world is so perverse, so incorrigibly an unbeliever, that very likely it would not credit a word of it—without finding the statements proved—if the author of this little volume were to say, that it was a readable and valuable work, “just what has been wanted,”—a good thing, and in season. Yet, gentle reader, “and still gentler purchaser,” seeing you have paid your dollar!—it is most undoubtedly true of the “Rambles” of this “Northurfari,” your humble and obliged servant.
Dropping the εγω, he will tell you how it was. Spending a few years in travel, he found himself after the “Great Exhibition” epoch, like the unconquered and unconquerable Macedonian, seeking for a world to pommel—with his footsteps—and after diligent and long-continued search on all the maps of all the Wylds, Johnstones, and Coltons in Christendom, could find but one land that was untrodden; but one that was not as contemptibly common as Irkoutsk, Timbuctoo, or the Niger itself. ICELAND was the shining bit of glacier, the one piece of virgin ore, the solitary lump of unlicked lava; and straightway to Iceland he went. It might not interest his readers any, were they to be told whether these pages were written in the saddle, or on Mount Hekla; in a tar-painted house in Reykjavik, or in a marble palace in London; on the deck of a Danish schooner, in a continuous summer day of the Arctic sea, or by the light of bright eyes in Scotia’s land. It so happens that the most of them were penned in the ULTIMA THULE, the Terra Incognita which they attempt to describe; and very little has been altered or amended since the original draft. The spirit of travel is the freshest at the time the travel is enjoyed; and all impressions are then the most vivid. What is written on the spot, carries with it a vraisemblance; and, though an after revision may add some polish to the style, yet to a certain extent, it takes away the life and vivacity of the narrative. This “polishing” and “editing” process, may reduce it to a dead flat, and, like an attempt to smooth a butterfly’s wing, remove the bloom, and leave it but a bony shard. Slang may be bearable, though it can hardly be creditable; puns may be so bad that some might call them positively good; but dullness, and a style that is heavy to stupidity, are the unpardonable sins of authorship. This work, however, may have all, and more than all these faults.