st I walked out to take a look at the Logberg, or
Rock of Laws, which is situated about half a mile from the church.
This is, perhaps, of all the objects of historical association in
Iceland, the most interesting. It was here the judges tried criminals,
pronounced judgments, and executed their stern decrees. On a small
plateau of lava, separated from the general mass by a profound abyss
on every side, save a narrow neck barely wide enough for a foothold,
the famous "Thing" assembled once a year, and, secured from intrusion
in their deliberations by the terrible chasm around, passed laws for
the weal or woe of the people. It was only necessary to guard the
causeway by which they entered; all other sides were well protected by
the encircling moat, which varies from thirty to forty feet in width,
and is half filled with water. The total depth to the bottom, which
is distinctly visible through the crystal pool, must be sixty or
seventy feet. Into this yawning abyss the unhappy criminals were cast,
with stones around their necks, and many a long day did they lie
beneath the water, a ghastly spectacle for the crowd that peered at
them over the precipice.

[Illustration: THINGVALLA, LOGBERG, ALMANNAJAU.]

All was now as silent as the grave. Eight centuries had passed, and
yet the strange scenes that had taken place here were vividly before
me. I could imagine the gathering crowds, the rising hum of voices;
the pause, the shriek, and plunge; the low murmur of horror, and then
the stern warning of the lawgivers and the gradual dispersing of the
multitude.

The dimensions of the plateau are four or five hundred feet in length
by an average of sixty or eighty in width. A diagram, taken from an
elevated point beyond, will give some idea of its form. The surface is
now covered with a fine coating of sod and grass, and furnishes good
pasturage for the sheep belonging to the pastor.

[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE LOGBERG.]

CHAPTER XLIX.

THE ROAD TO THE GEYSERS.

It was ten o'clock at night when I reached the parsonage. In addition
to my rough ride from Reykjavik, and the various trying adventures on
the way, I had walked over nearly the whole range of the Almannajau,
sketched the principal points of interest, visited the Logberg, and
made some sketches and diagrams of that, besides accomplishing a
considerable amount of work about the premises of the good pastor, all
of which is now submitted to the kind indulge