. It was
night when we arrived at Edinburg, so that I had no opportunity of
judging what his impressions would be at that time. Next morning I
knocked at his room door. His wife opened it, looking very sad, as I
thought. At the window, gazing out over the magnificent scene,
embracing the Monument, the Castle, and many of the finest of the
public buildings, stood her husband, the big tears coursing down his
face.

"Well," said I, "what do you think of Edinburg?"

"Oh!" he cried, "oh, I am so home-sick! Oh, my dear, dear native land!
Oh, my own beautiful Iceland! Oh that I were back in my beloved
Reykjavik! Oh, I shall die in this desert of houses! Oh that I could
once more breathe the pure fresh air of my own dear, dear island
home!"

Such were literally his expressions. Not one word had he to say about
the beauties of Edinburg! To him it was a hideous nightmare. The fishy
little huts of Reykjavik, the bleak lava-deserts of the neighborhood,
and the raw blasts from the Jokuls, were all he could realize of a
Paradise upon earth. Yet he was a highly-cultivated and intelligent
man, not destitute of refined tastes. Truly, I thought to myself,

"The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone
Boldly proclaims the happiest spot his own."

While I waited outside the pastor's house, enjoying the oddity of the
scene, Zoega busied himself unsaddling the horses. I sat down on a
pile of fagots, and, with some trouble and a little assistance from my
guide, succeeded in getting off my overalls, which had been thoroughly
drenched with rain and saturated with mud. The occasional duckings we
had experienced in crossing the rivers did not add to my comfort. I
was chilled and wet, and would have given a Danish dollar for the
privilege of sitting at a fire. All this time there was no sign of
life about the premises save the barking of an ill-favored little dog
that was energetically disclaiming any acquaintance with Brusa. I
regret to say that Brusa lost much of his bravado air in the presence
of this insignificant cur, but it was quite natural; the cur was at
home and Brusa wasn't. At first our dog seemed disposed to stand his
ground, but upon the near approach of the house-dog he dropped his
tail between his legs and ingloriously sneaked between the legs of the
horses, which of course gave the gentleman of the house a high opinion
of his own prowess--so much so, indeed, that the craven spirit of
Brusa never before appeared in such