imly visible through drifting masses of fog; to the left
a broken wall of red, black, and blue rocks, weird and surf-beaten,
stretching as far as the eye could reach--this was Iceland! All along
the grim rifted coast the dread marks of fire, and flood, and
desolation were visible. Detached masses of lava, gnarled and scraggy
like huge clinkers, seemed tossed out into the sea; towers,
buttresses, and battlements, shaped by the very elements of
destruction, reared their stern crests against the waves; glaciers lay
glittering upon the blackened slopes behind; and foaming torrents of
snow-water burst through the rifted crags in front, and mingled their
rage with the wild rage of the surf--all was battle, and ruin, and
desolation.

As we approached the point called Portland, a colossal bridge opened
into view, so symmetrical in its outline that it was difficult to
believe it was not of artificial construction. The arch is about fifty
feet high by thirty in width, and affords shelter to innumerable
flocks of birds, whose nests are built in the crevices underneath.
Solan-geese, eider-ducks, and sea-gulls cover the dizzy heights
overhead, and whales have been known to pass through the passage
below. Great numbers of blackfish and porpoises abound in this
vicinity. From time to time, as we swept along on our way, we could
discern a lonesome hut high up on the shore, with a few sheep and
cattle on the slopes of the adjacent hills, but for the most part
the coast was barren and desolate.

[Illustration: NATURAL BRIDGE.]

Early on the following morning the sun-capped peaks of Mount Hecla
were visible. There has been no eruption from this mountain since
1845. The principal crater lies 5210 feet above the level of the sea,
and is distant fifteen miles from the shore.

Toward noon we made the Westmann Isles, a small rocky group some ten
miles distant from the main island. A fishing and trading
establishment, owned by a company of Danes, is located on one of these
islands. The _Arcturus_ touches twice a year to deliver and receive a
mail. On the occasion of our visit, a boat came out with a
hardy-looking crew of Danes to receive the mail-bag. It was doubtless
a matter of great rejoicing to them to obtain news from home. I had
barely time to make a rough outline of the islands as we lay off the
settlement.

The chief interest attached to the Westmann group is, that it is
supposed to have been visited by Columbus in 1477, fiftee