tain. "They smell a little
fishy, but no matter. It's all the better for a voyage to Iceland.
You'll be used to the smell before you get to Reykjavik; and it's
wholesome--very wholesome! Nothing makes a man so fat." I made a small
selection--a rough jacket and a few other essential articles.
"Nonsense, man!" roared the captain, "take 'em all! You'll find them
useful; and if you don't, you can heave them overboard or give them to
the sailors." And thus was I fitted out for the voyage.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

VOYAGE TO SCOTLAND.

The _Arcturus_ is a small screw steamer owned by Messrs. Koch and
Henderson, and now some six years on the route between Copenhagen and
Reykjavik. The Danish government pays them an annual sum for carrying
the mails, and they control a considerable trade in fish and wool.
This vessel makes six trips every year, touching at a port in Scotland
both on the outer and return voyage. At first she made Leith her
stopping-place; but, owing to superior facilities for her business at
Grangemouth, she now stops at that port. The cost of passage is
extremely moderate--only 45 Danish dollars, about $28 American, living
on board 75 cents a day, and a small fee to the steward, making for
the voyage out or back, which usually occupies about eleven days,
inclusive of stoppages, something less than $40. I mention this for
the benefit of my friends at home, who may think proper to make a very
interesting trip at a very small expense; though, as will hereafter
appear, the most considerable part of the expenditure occurs in
Iceland. Captain Andersen (they are all Andersens, or Jonasens, or
Hansens, or Petersens in Denmark), a very active and obliging little
Dane, commands the _Arcturus_. He speaks English fluently, and is an
experienced seaman; and if the tourist is not unusually fastidious
about accommodations, there will be no difficulty in making an
agreeable voyage. I found every thing on board excellent; the fare
abundant and wholesome, and the sleeping-quarters not more like
coffins than they usually are on board small steamers. A few inches
cut off the passengers' legs or added to the length of the berths, and
a few extra handspikes in the lee scuppers to steady the vessel, would
be an improvement; but then one can't have every thing to suit him.
Some grumbling took place, to be sure, after our departure from
Scotland. A young Scotchman wanted a berth for a big dog in the same
cabin with the rest of his f